Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) is taking a restructuring charge of $87 million to account for layoffs in its Twin Cities location, the company reported Tuesday in its fourth quarter financial report.Roughly 220 positions have already been cut in its home state, and another 30 will lose their jobs in Minnesota. Those 250 job cuts are part of [...]

Here’s another indication that the old models of healthcare are crumbling.In a conference call to discuss fourth quarter results, Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak announced that the company is pursuing partnerships with payers worldwide to try and leverage outcomes data that can help develop cost effective therapies and manage chronic diseases.The strategy is being driven by [...]

In a short news release issued Wednesday afternoon, Medtronic(NYSE:MDT)disclosed that the U.S. Department of Justice has closed its civil and criminal investigation into the company’s former blockbuster and controversial product Infuse.The investigation launched more than three years ago was into whether Medtronic illegally promoted the off-label use of the bone growth product. A spokesman said [...]

When it comes to commercialization efforts of renal denervation therapy, St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) is behind Medtronic (NYSE:MDT).But St. Jude Medical is hoping that slow and steady may still win the race in the quest to use this novel treatment in patients whose high blood pressure is not controlled by medication.The device maker announced Tuesday [...]

Life science current events this week include J&J and MDT’s contrasting acquisition strategies, the transcatheter valve replacement market and cardiovascular disease medical device companies.

Inspire Medical Systems, which has developed an implantable neurostimulation device to treat sleep apnea, announced Friday that it has raised $14.5 million in a series C round.New investors include Medtronic, which licensed the technology to Inspire back in 2007, and TGap Venture, while existing investors, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, US Venture Partners, Synergy Life [...]

Anyone who is even slightly aware of the dynamics of the medical device industry knows that Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) are not exactly the best of friends.The Minnesota behemoth and its smaller California rival have engaged in bitter legal wrangling over intellectual property and patents. Especially with respect to the transcatheter aortic valve [...]

People often think journalists like to ask gotcha questions, when what we are trying to do is separate fact from fiction.Last week, the St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote a story about Medtronic cutting more than 200 jobs in its Heart Rhythm Division.It was another sign that growth continues to be elusive in Medtronic’s largest business.When [...]

Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak has signaled that executives have to meet his strict criteria on acquisitions, but he may have to relax the rule in one product group.One analyst believes that to cement its leading position in a therapy that treats patients with uncontrolled hypertension, the Minnesota device maker will likely have to make an [...]

On Friday, Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) reported strong dataFriday from an overseas clinical trial that showed that its novel renal denervation therapy for uncontrolled hypertension worked and did not adversely affect the kidneys six months after treatment.Renal denervation is used to treat uncontrolled hypertension, or high blood pressure, by the ablation of the nerves that line the [...]