As competition for medical device acquisitions heats up, Medtronic Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp. are redeeming early bets on promising startups, and Ireland’s technology economy falls on hard times.

While questioning each other’s money-making techniques, the chiefs of Massachusetts’ most prominent hospital network and private health insurer agreed that controlling soaring healthcare costs begins with a shift in thinking: adjust to a climate of limited resources and learn to live with less, reports MetroWest Daily News.

St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE:STJ) reintroduced physicians at the North American Neuromodulation Society meeting in Las Vegas today to its Penta surgical lead for neurostimulation therapy. Since last year’s society meeting, during which St. Jude announced Food and Drug Administration clearance to sell the device in the United States, St. Jude has received CE Mark approval to sell the device in Europe and reimbursement approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Spinal device leader Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) has received Food and Drug Administration approval to use its CD Horizon vertebral bone screw system to treat scoliosis that develops during adolescence. The clearance may help the Minnesota medical device giant revive its struggling spine business, which is near the end of a three-year overhaul just as insurers take a harder look at whether surgery is the most cost-effective way to treat back pain.

Would the Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommend that the labels of two drugs — dutasteride, made by GlaxoSmithKline and sold as Avodart; and finasteride, a generic made by Merck and sold as Proscar — be changed to say they can reduce a man’s risk of getting prostate cancer? The answer was no, reports the New York Times.

Efforts to rein in rapidly rising healthcare costs will require new team-based payment and delivery approaches, which would demand sacrifices from hospitals, doctors and insurers, according to the Boston Globe.

Medtronic Inc. spinout Inspire Medical Systems Inc. has received the go-ahead from regulators to sell its obstructive sleep apnea device in Europe and test it for the U.S. market.

President Barack Obama, in a wide-ranging, reflective interview with Barbara Walters, staunchly defended his controversial policies — including sweeping healthcare reforms — as bold but necessary steps to help transform an economy that was at the brink of collapse into one that is “growing,” Politico reports.

What if a Republican governor and a Republican legislature implemented their version of health insurance reform for which the federal government would pay? It’s a great idea. And I’m thrilled to say that a bi-partisan bill already has been introduced in the Senate by Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts), writes Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review blog.

In Weekend Rounds: Galleon Pharmaceuticals in suburban Philadelphia raises $10 million for medicines to treat breathing control conditions like sleep apnea and COPD, and Medtronic is a company in transition.