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MedTech 100 roundup: New heights reached again

One week after recording its all-time best performance, the medtech industry once again topped itself, storming even further ahead.

MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — has been on the rise since April began, with last week’s mark of 112.25 (April 16) representing an all-time best, topping the previous high of 110.96 set on Feb. 15.

Just one week later, the index has already bested itself again, reaching 114.58 to end the week on April 23, marking an increase of 2.1% from the previous week.

The rapid improvement continues to shine a light on the strong position the industry has maintained more than a year on from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on medtech. The industry has produced a 24.1% rise from the pre-pandemic high of 92.32 (set on Feb. 19, 2020), plus an 84.4% increase from the mid-pandemic low of 62.13 (March 23, 2020).

The overall markets fared di…

EU to look into Illumina’s proposed acquisition of Grail

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition announced today that it will review Illumina’s proposed $8 billion acquisition of Grail.

The move, covered in media reports, comes weeks after the companies delayed the deal until after Sept. 20 while the U.S. Federal Trade Commission challenges the deal.

Grail is one of several companies competing to develop liquid biopsy tests, which rely on DNA sequencing of blood or other bodily fluids to detect cancer early. Illumina, which previously spun out Grail in 2016, is a provider of DNA sequencing and array-based technologies. Regulators worry that Grail’s competitors in the multi-cancer early detection test space have too much reliance on Illumina technology.

Illumina officials said today that they are sticking by plans to proceed with the deal.

“Reuniting GRAIL and Illumina will allow us to bring Grail’s breakthrough early detection multi-cancer test to patients across the wo…

MedTech 100 roundup: Heading back to previous heights?

Although March brought on tough times for top stocks in the medtech industry, April is already showing signs of a rebound.

The year’s strong start, during which MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 index notched an all-time best of 110.96 points (Feb. 15) came to an end later that month and carried over into March, with the index hitting its lowest recent point on March 8 (102.16), marking a fall at a level not seen since October.

Even after a handful of slight improvements over the month of March, the industry never quite found its footing, ending the month below the 105-point mark.

The first week of April has already presented positive movement, though, with the industry rising to 106.26 points as the week ended on April 2, a 1.3% rise from the 104.87-point mark set the week prior on March 26.

Improvements highlight the secure position the industry has nestled into a year on from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on medtech, as the industry…

DTW Podcast: Earnhardt shares how Abbott shifted gears to counter pandemic; Grail still looks to upend oncology

This week, we’ll talk with Lisa Earnhardt, executive vice president, medical devices at Abbott about how the life sciences giant pivoted during the pandemic.

Earnhardt shares what programs were given greater priority when the impact of the lockdown became clear and why the company performed so well in one of its key businesses.

We also explore this week’s news that the FTC will oppose Illumina’s acquisition of Grail.

First, we talk with Dr. Christopher Keir, vice president of medical affairs at Grail, about the great potential of the company’s diagnostic technologies. The interview was recorded last month prior to the FTC’s decision.

Then we talk to Vijay Kumar, senior managing director at Evercore ISI, about why the FTC is making a strong case to block the deal.

And, of course, Chris …

Report: Illumina will postpone $8B Grail deal

Illumina (NSDQ:ILMN) is reportedly set to delay the closing of its proposed $8 billion acquisition of Grail amid a challenge by the FTC.

According to a report by Law360, the company has agreed to postpone the planned purchase until as late as September of this year while the FTC attempts to quash the deal.

News of Illumina’s agreement to delay the purchase of the cancer detection startup that spun out from the company four years ago follows an announcement by the company just days ago that it disagreed with and will oppose the FTC’s challenge to its acquisition of Grail. San Diego-based Illumina called the FTC’s challenge to the proposed transaction “a marked departure from longstanding antitrust precedent.” The company said it planned to pursue all legal options to complete the acquisition.

Illumina announced in September that it entered into an agreement to acquire the cancer detection startup that spun out from the company four years ago for cash and…

Illumina vows to pursue Grail purchase despite FTC challenge

Illumina (NSDQ:ILMN) announced today that it disagrees with and will oppose the FTC’s challenge to its acquisition of Grail.

San Diego-based Illumina announced in September that it entered into an agreement to acquire the cancer detection startup that spun out from the company four years ago for cash and stock consideration of $8 billion.

founded in 2016, Grail spun out as a standalone company powered by Illumina’s NGS technology for developing data science and machine learning for enabling multiple cancers in early detection tests. It raised approximately $2 billion to support its platform and develop the Galleri multi-cancer screening test, which is set to commercially launch this year.

Illumina said in a news release that it will pursue its right to proceed with the transaction so it can adopt the multi-cancer early detection blood test from the company it founded and a company with which it does not compete.

Through the acquisition, Illu…

NIH to boost COVID-19 testing capabilities

[Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash]

The National Institutes of Health announced a $129.3 million plan to support scaling and manufacturing for COVID-19 tests.

As part of its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative, NIH is awarding contracts to nine companies for their technologies that include portable point-of-care tests for immediate results and high-throughput laboratories that can produce results in 24 hours.

Yesterday’s announcement follows a July investment in seven companies from NIH worth $248.7 million in new technologies to address challenges with COVID-19 testing.

Some of the testing technologies are also being supported by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) as part of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, along with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), in the U.S. Defense Dept.

Here are the nine co…

Illumina gains FDA EUA for sequencing-based COVID-19 test

Illumina (NSDQ:ILMN) announced that it received FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for its COVIDSeq sequencing-based COVID-19 diagnostic test.

COVIDSeq uses upper respiratory specimens, such as a nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab, and delivers sample receipt to result in 24 hours with the NovaSeq 6000 sequencing system, according to a news release.

Illumina’s high-throughput, in vitro diagnostic test includes 98 amplicons that target the full SARS-CoV-2 genome to create accurate detection and high sensitivity. The workflow accommodates up to 3,072 samples per NovaSeq run, leveraging the S4 flow cell, and it includes steps for viral RNA extraction, RNA-to-CDNA conversion, PCR, library preparation, sequencing and report generation.

COVIDSeq is currently available to a limited number of early access sites as Illumina expects the test to be more widely available this summer.

“COVIDSeq leverages the performance of NGS to help address the gl…