It’s always a tough act to follow Howard Root, the sometimes volatile, always interesting CEO of Vascular Solutions Inc. But when you’re one of a gazillion candidates running for the governor of Minnesota, the challenge becomes even more daunting. Which makes me wonder why organizers of the first annual Minnesota BIO forum, including LifeScience Alley, […]
Aside from sharing the same first letter, “mojo” and “Minnesota” are words that don’t seem to carry a lot in common, though that may soon change. The state is home to 19 Fortune 500 companies, a world-class hospital and research center in Rochester and SPAM–what else do you need? But the land of 10,000 lakes […]
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the state’s top research university are not exactly close allies. At The Collaborative’s annual venture capital conference last year, Pawlenty criticized the University of Minnesota for being unfriendly to business just minutes before university spin-outs were to pitch investors. University sources say Dan McElroy, commissioner for the Department of Employment […]
“Are you ready to listen about the demise of our industry?” one med tech executive asked another at today’s LifeScience Alley luncheon. “Yes, I’m morbidly interested,” the other joked back. Such gallows humor pervades the medical device industry these days. And not without good reason. For months, I’ve heard panelist after panelist, expert after expert, […]
Here are some news/notes from a day in MedCity, Minnesota: Mayo Clinic said Thursday that it returned to profitability in 2009, thanks mostly to large investment gains and expense control. The organization reported income of $333 million, a 4.4 percent operating margin, after breaking even in 2008. Mayo generated $7.6 billion, a 5 percent gain […]
Rep. Ann Lenczewski's opposition to angel credits flies in the face of evidence, experts, and the collective political and business will of Minnesota.
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Drug companies face bills that require disclosure of industry payments to doctors and funding for medication waste disposal.
Last week, Rep. Ann Lenczewski and House Speaker Margaret Kelliher held a press conference to tout a jobs creation bill. First item on the 26-page bill: a three year, $9 million tax credit to investors and funds with a heavy focus on "green" companies. To receive the credit, regional investment funds must devote 50 percent of its money toward "qualifying green job small businesses."
BioOhio and LifeScience Alley, the state biotechnology development organizations in Ohio and Minnesota, have joined 20 other industry associations asking legislators to limit the medical device taxes or fees proposed in both the House and Senate versions of health care reform.
The Minnesota Medical Device Alliance Steering Committee, made up of some of the state's most prominent investors, attorneys and executives, is hosting a meeting in February to discuss ways to push back against critics of the 510(k) program.
We will highlight Build My Health's revenue practice management tools, which could help physician practices add up to $250,000 to their practices.
Access Genetics, based in Eden Prairie, has taken it one step further by allowing doctors with different expertise, like urologists and OBGYNs, to view DNA test results and collaborate on diagnosis and treatment -- all through a special Web site and virtual software.
A major study published in the most recent issue of Journal of the American Medical Association or JAMA, criticized the FDA for using shoddy, incomplete research to approve high-risk heart devices.
The director of the University of Minnesota's Medical Device Center Fellows program developed algorithms and signal processing techniques used in detecting and analyzing abnormal heart beats. The resulting system, a juiced-up stethoscope made by Maplewood-based 3M Cos. and data-crunching software created by Zargis Medical Corp. was named Innovation of the Year by Popular Science magazine.
The medical device industry, long the backbone of Minnesota's high tech economy, faces perhaps its most challenging environment in decades. From regulatory headaches and health care reform to a dearth of venture capital, medical device stakeholders face a swirling mix of uncertainty and anxiety.