FDA approvals

MedCity Influencers

We all need to support a bill that sets a deadline for scheduling new controlled substances

Everyone agrees patients are waiting far too long to access new drugs and treatments that enhance and extend lives. Most people concerned with accelerating treatments and cures are understandably focused on the process of drug discovery, development and approval. However, a less known but equally frustrating impediment is a federally required “scheduling” under the Controlled […]

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Devices & Diagnostics

3-D St. Jude Medical launches technology that gives docs real-time, 360-degree view of arteries

St. Jude Medical  (STJ) announced FDA approval of its  ILUMIEN  OPTIS  PCI Optimization  System, and the product’s U.S. launch. The device gives physicians a real-time, 360-degree panoramic view of the arteries, to help with stent placement and to guide treatment for patients with coronary artery disease. But what’s the true value proposition between this new […]

Devices & Diagnostics

FDA advisory panel gives mixed message to STJ fave CardioMEMS on CHAMPION implantable device

After a difficult premarket approval process and tenuous relationship with the FDA, Atlanta’s CardioMEMS  received a mixed message from an FDA advisory panel on its CHAMPION HF Pressure Measurement System, an  implantable sensor monitor to help guide treatment in patients with congestive heart failure. The panel voted unanimously that the device was safe, the majority […]

Devices & Diagnostics

Biotronik receives FDA device approval for ‘smaller, thinner’ one-lead implantable cardiac defibrillator

Biotronik, an Oregon-based cardiovascular medical device company, announced it received final FDA device approval for its Ilesto DX, an implantable cardiac defibrillator. Earlier this year, it received FDA device approval for family of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators. This week’s approval is an “upgraded” device. This “smaller, thinner” new generation platform allows for a […]

Devices & Diagnostics

Will FDA step in with lab development tests?

In her speech at Advamed 2013, FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg said a new challenge will be regulating in some way lab development tests. Now, LDTs are left to CLIA, which, Hamburg said, does not ensure they are properly designed, consistently assembled or clinically valid. She called for a “critical baseline” of these sorts of in […]

Devices & Diagnostics

BSX gets FDA approval for ablation catheter, becomes third major player this week with ablation milestone

Boston Scientific (BSX) announced it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its IntellaTip MiFi XP catheter and 501(k) clearance for its Zurpaz 8.5F steerable sheath, growing its EP mapping/ablation technology portfolio. This makes it the third major player–following both St. Jude Medical, which acquired Endosense, and GE, which invested in Acutus Medical–to […]

Devices & Diagnostics

FDA approves cardiac assist device for heart failure patients awaiting transplant

The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it has approved Framingham, Massachussetts-based HeartWare’s left ventricle assist device for heart failure patients awaiting a heart transplant. The HeartWare Ventricular Assist System is a mechanical, implantable pump that helps the heart’s left ventricle pump blood that is rich in oxygen to the body in patients whose […]