Top Story

Morning Read: Peter Thiel-backed Auris Surgical Robots acquires Hansen Medical for $80M

Also, Medtronic recalls nearly 10,000 battery backs for patient breathing monitors over heat damage risk and Alere loses half a billion dollars in value as investors fear Abbott's acquisition will fall through.

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TOP STORY

Peter Thiel-backed stealth startup Auris Surgical Robots will acquire Hansen Medical in a deal valued $80 million. Hansen develops minimally invasive robotic surgery devices. — FierceMedicalDevices

Medtronic voluntarily initiated a recall of nearly 10,000 battery packs for medical devices to monitor patients’ breathing after receiving reports of a defect that can cause heat damage. The battery packs are used for Covidien Oridion labeled Capnostream(TM)20 and Capnostream(TM) 20p Patient Monitors. So far, seven of the battery packs have caused heat damage and in one case, there was a fire causing minor burns and smoke inhalation. — MarketWatch, Medtronic

LIFE SCIENCES

Basilea Pharmaceutica has landed a $100 million BARDA contract over four and a half years to support phase 3 U.S. trials of its antibiotic, ceftobiprole medocaril — which is already being marketing in Europe as Zevtera. — Reuters

BioMarin has reported preliminary data on phase 1/2 trial for its hemophilia A therapy – finding that most patients in the small studied improved. — Xconomy

GlaxoSmithKline and San Diego’s Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have teamed up, creating a new center for translational neuroscience. It’ll work to identify and validate new therapeutic targets that affect brain function. — BioCentury

The FDA is letting companies filing NDAs and ANDAs that clinical and bioanalytical studies conducted by a Bangalore, India-based CRO Semler Research isn’t acceptable in terms of data integrity. — RAPS

SeraCare and Toma Bio have developed a solid tumor gene analysis kit. — GenomeWeb

Massachusetts diagnostics firm Alere lost half a billion dollars in market value today, because investors are worried that the planned acquisition by Abbott Laboratories might fall through. — Boston Business Journal

A new CRISPR system can switch single letters of the genome cleanly and efficiently, refining how it might repair disease-causing mutations. — STAT

TECHNOLOGY

Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is piloting an app from startup Everseat that lets patients schedule appointments and arrange for rides via Lyft. — MobiHealthNews

Malawi has started testing drones to speed up how long it takes to test infants in rural areas for HIV. — Reuters

PAYERS/PROVIDERS

Medical transportation company Logisticare has reached more than $1 billion in revenue thanks to the Affordable Care Act. — Atlanta Business Chronicle

Kansas healthcare providers want KanCare, the state’s Medicaid and CHIP managed care program, expanded. — KWCH12

Cigna’s CEO has implemented financial incentives and wellness resources to its own employees – and has found that it’s led to lower premiums. — Hartford Courant

POLITICS

An FDA official testified at a congressional hearing to say the agency is working to improve its lab safety. This comes after new report highlighted deficiencies in its bioresearch lab safety — such as mishandling dangerous biological materials like smallpox and anthrax. — RAPS

A LITTLE BIT EXTRA

Right in time for 420: Marijuana legalization activists said Wednesday that White House officials had invited them to chat next week about issues involving the drug. — Reuters

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