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Here are some news/notes from a day in MedCity, Minnesota:
Boston Scientific Corp. said Thursday that it cut some sales staff and managers from its heart-rhythm device business, based in Arden Hills, Minnesota, for disciplinary reasons, and that revenue could suffer this year as a result, according to Dow Jones Newswire. Company executives declined to disclose the number of staffers let go or the precise reasons why, although Chief Executive Ray Elliott said there had been repeated breaches of the company’s health-care professional code of conduct.
Medtronic Inc. of Fridley announced Thursday that a German appellate court has upheld a prior ruling that the company’s CoreValve transcatheter aortic valve system does not infringe upon a patent held by Edward Lifesciences, according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson sued Direct Medical Solutions Inc. and Family Care, accusing the Texas-based companies of duping 4,600 Minnesota residents into purchasing sham low cost health insurance, according to the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. Swanson sued two other companies last year for similar practices involving more than 2,000 Minnesotans. Dozens more are operating in Minnesota, and Swanson said she is investigating another 12 or so of them.
A recently published medical study says defibrillator brands made by Boston Scientific Corp. have a design flaw that can result in the devices delivering potentially life-threatening shocks to the hearts of patients, according to the St. Pioneer Press. The defect can cause the Cognis and Teligen brand defibrillators to deliver the shocks when they aren’t needed in the many patients who get the devices implanted just under the skin, according to an article in the journal HeartRhythm.
CareFusion Corp. is planning to soon roll out products for repairing spinal fractures that will create fresh competition for Medtronic Inc.’s spine franchise, according to Dow Jones Newswires. CareFusion, a recent medical-devices spinoff from Cardinal Healthis aiming to enter the U.S. market for so-called Kyphoplasty procedures in April pending final regulatory approval, Chief Executive David Schlotterbeck recently told analysts.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
ClearWay Minnesota has released a report accusing the tobacco industry of circumventing laws to continue to market products to young consumers and keep current customers addicted to nicotine, according to MinnPost in Minneapolis.
