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Layoffs in medtech: These companies recently reduced their workforce

[Image courtesy of Nastuh Abootalebi on Unsplash] The workforce reduction trend has swept the economy recently, and unfortunately, the medtech space is not immune to layoffs.

You’ve probably read about the ongoing layoffs sweeping the tech industry, media and more.

For instance, Yahoo, Disney, Zoom and more all reported workforce reductions as companies across industries grapple with economic pressures. Think inflation, supply chain challenges and more.

Medtech has shown some resilience in the present environment. Some major medical device companies released positive earnings. However, others announced headcount reductions, citing macroeconomic headwinds. Others felt the weight of regulatory issues and restructuring efforts.

Here are a few companies across medtech that enacted layoffs over the past several months.

3M

In 3M’s fourth-quarter earnings report, the company announced that it plans to reduce its global manufacturing workforc…

Verily lays off 15% of workforce

Google’s (NSDQ:GOOGL) Verily announced this week that, as part of a refined strategy, it eliminated 15% of its workforce.

Verily has more than 1,600 employees, so the layoff would be more than 200 workers, according to media sites.

On Jan. 11, CEO Stephen Gillett issued a letter to all Verily employees. Gillett took over the corner office this month after the company announced his promotion in September.

In the letter, titled “One Verily Forward,” Gillett laid out a refined strategy, prioritized portfolio and simplified operating model. That included a workforce reduction.

“I have promised you all transparency in what we’re doing, and this means we have eliminated approximately 15 percent of Verily roles due to discontinued programs, full control of Granular and Onduo, and redundancy in the new, centralized organization,” wrote Gillett. “Our most immediate priority is ensuring that these [Verily employees] are given t…

The biggest medtech personnel moves in 2022

Some of the largest companies in medtech have promoted, replaced or removed leaders in recent months.

In July, Medical Design & Outsourcing compiled a list of the biggest personnel changes in the first half of 2022. Those included hirings, firings, promotions and retirements of CEOs, presidents and and other business leaders across the medtech industry.

The latter half of the year has brought even more changes. To close out 2022 and prepare for 2023, here are more of the year’s biggest medtech moves — and some updates since the news first broke.

Butterfly Network CEO steps down

Todd Fruchterman

On Dec. 6, Butterfly Network (NYSE:BFLY) announced that it reached a mutual agreement with Dr. Todd Fuchterman to step down as president and CEO. Fruchterman also left Butterfly’s board of directors.

Fruchterman oversaw Butterfly’s development of artificial intelligence-based ha…

ResMed partners with Verily on digital health for sleep disorders

ResMed and Google’s sister company Verily recently launched a digital health joint venture called Primasun.

The companies launched the joint venture on Nov. 13 during HLTH 2022 in Las Vegas. They said Primasun will combine advanced healthcare technology and research into one comprehensive digital health platform. It will work with employers and healthcare providers to identify populations at risk of sleep disorders. After that, it will connect patients to certified sleep physicians.

“Sleep is the foundation of physical and mental health, and at Primasun, we believe there’s an opportunity to build a more efficient, equitable healthcare solution that helps patients clinically improve their sleep, and in turn, their quality of life,” said Primasun CEO Jonathon Lobbins. Most recently, Lobbins was VP of strategy and business development at Siemens Healthineers.

Initially, Primasun is offering a product that connects patients with certi…

7 innovative digital health offerings to treat diabetes

MIT engineers are working on an app that that identifies and quantifies food content, which can aid in carbohydrate counting for people with diabetes. [Image from MIT News] From using your smartphone to track data to reversing your diabetes altogether, these digital health technologies stand out.

Advances in treatments for diabetes never stop coming. Whether that be in the form of insulin pumps or continuous glucose monitors, we’ve seen plenty.

Moving away from the physical device, innovations in the digital diabetes space continue to impress. Digital therapeutics, artificial intelligence- and cloud-based offerings and more comprise an intriguing list of technologies.

Here are seven digital offerings aimed at treating diabetes that you might want to keep an eye on:

1. Digital therapeutics for diabetes

Digital therapeutics is an ever-growing space capable of treating a range of diseases and conditions. That reach extends to diabetes, as shown by companies…

Verily receives $1B investment led by Alphabet, promotes president to corner office

Google’s (NSDQ:GOOGL) Verily announced today that it received a $1 billion investment led by parent company Alphabet.

South San Francisco, California-based Verily plans to use the funds to expand its businesses focused on precision health. New capital will go toward a variety of its core initiatives.

Those include real-world evidence generation, healthcare data, research and care and the underlying technology, Verily said. The company will also consider further investment in strategic partnerships, global business development and potential acquisitions.

During a recent DeviceTalks Weekly podcast, investor and advisor Steve Oesterle, formerly of Medtronic, said he was still all in on Google and Verily. Technology is the only logical way to deliver healthcare to a massive, fast-growing population, he said. “Whoever has the most data and knows how to aggregate it and analyze it is going to win in healthcare.”

Leadership changes at Verily

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Verily’s Onduo, Sword Health collaborate on virtual care

Onduo announced today that it entered into a strategic collaboration with Sword Health to broaden virtual care for diabetes and other conditions.

Sword Health, a digital musculoskeletal (MSK) care provider, will work with Onduo by Verily, an Alphabet precision health company, to offer complementary solutions, broadening access to virtual care benefits for chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and mental health.

Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Delivery Business News.

FDA clears iRhythm’s ZEUS system for Zio Watch

iRhythm Technologies (Nasdaq:IRTC) announced today that it received FDA 510(k) clearance for its ZEUS (Zio ECG Utilization Software) system.

ZEUS, produced in partnership with Google’s Verily, combines deep-learned algorithms with iRhythm’s trusted cardiac arrhythmia service, providing the AI algorithm and solution component for the Zio Watch sensor-based wearable for non-invasive, clinical-grade, long-term continuous monitoring for AFib.

According to a news release, Verily also received FDA 510(k) clearance for the Zio Watch (study watch with irregular pulse monitor).

San Francisco-based iRhythm said that ZEUS provides an integrated, prescription-based solution that addresses clinician workflows, care pathways and the patient experience, while the wrist-worn Zio Watch not only detects AFib but also characterizes the amount of AFib over time.

Zio Watch uses a continuous photoplethysmography (PPG), AI-based algorithm to detect AFib and …

iRhythm plans silent AFib screening pilots, high-level hires and Zio Watch evaluations

Verily’s Study Watch will serve as iRhythm’s Zio Watch. [Photo courtesy of Verily]iRhythm Technologies (NSDQ:IRTC) has big plans for 2022 and its remote external electrocardiogram monitors as the medical device developer gears up for growth.

President and CEO Quentin Blackford is looking to hire an international general manager among other roles in the coming months, he told Medical Design & Outsourcing after presenting at this month’s 2022 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, where he laid out his vision for profitably scaling the company.

Blackford also previewed plans to roll out asymptomatic atrial fibrillation (AFib) screening pilots with payors in 2022. Screening for “silent” AFib can detect problems before an event like a stroke or heart failure, giving doctors more time for treatment at a lower cost.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

iRhythm plans silent AFib screening pilots, high-level hires and Zio Watch evaluations

iRhythm’s Zio XT cardiac monitor [Image from iRhythm]

iRhythm Technologies (NSDQ:IRTC) has big plans for 2022 and its remote external electrocardiogram monitors as the medical device developer gears up for growth.

President and CEO Quentin Blackford is looking to hire an international general manager among other roles in the coming months, he told Medical Design & Outsourcing after presenting at this month’s 2022 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, where he laid out his vision for profitably scaling the company.

Asked by MDO whether Blackford is planning a reorganization or restructuring after he discussed the cost-consciousness side of his growth plans, an external spokesperson offered more details from the CEO.

“At a leadership level, we are actively structuring our C-suite in order to create long-term sustainable growth,” Blackford said. “The goal is to enable iRhythm to be a glo…

Google’s sister company Verily opens new AI-focused R&D center in Israel

Verily today said it opened a new R&D center in Israel to focus on applying artificial intelligence in healthcare.

The Israel-based team will focus on applying AI to biomedical problems, including applications in endoscopy, minimally invasive surgery and other imaging modalities. The center will continue early research conducted by Google Health and Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center on using AI in the detection of colonic polyps.

“Through this collaboration, we have introduced a highly precise model using AI to identify and map colonic polyps in ways that will enhance diagnosis and treatment. This represents how close partnerships between clinical and technology leaders can have very significant and lasting benefits for the medical community,” Eran Goldin, director of the Digestive Diseases Institute at Shaare Zedek, said in a news release.

Verily’s Israel team will be co-located with Google in Haifa and Tel Aviv and will be led by …

FDA rejects Verily’s smartwatch-based Parkinson’s exam

Verily’s Study Watch [Image courtesy of Verily]The FDA issued a letter to Google’s (NSDQ:GOOGL) Verily declaring that it will not accept a letter of intent for the company’s Parkinson’s exam.

Verily submitted the LOI for drug development tool (DDT) for the virtual motor exam for Parkinson’s disease. The device measures a change in digitally assessed parameters of a subset of Parkinson’s disease motor signs from the MDS-UPDRS Part III (motor examination) through a smartwatch (Verily’s Study Watch), according to the FDA letter.

The FDA determined that the examinations provided by Verily are “limited in their capacity to evaluate meaningful aspects of concepts of interest that are relevant to the patients’ ability to function in day-to-day life.”

In the letter, the FDA said a change in rigidity or finger tapping can’t be directly interpreted as meaningful to patients, while a change in speech, eating and dr…