Abbott gets EUA for rapid $5 COVID-19 antigen test

As the fourth company to get the FDA emergency nod, the medtech giant's scale makes it a "significant entry [that] could help democratize testing," said former agency head Scott Gottlieb.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Aug. 27, 2020

With a one-year reprieve to EU's MDR, some procrastinate, others speed ahead

Industry is taking advantage of a long-sought delay to the regulation in different ways, but COVID-19's impact on notified body capacity, pace of information from lawmakers, and company resources are some confounding variables. 

By Maria Rachal • Aug. 26, 2020

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New medical devices are reshaping the medtech industry

From pulsed field ablation devices to glucose sensors and surgical robotics, new medical technologies are transforming patient care and how people manage their health.

By MedTech Dive staff

Hospitals slam 'disturbing' CMS COVID-19 data reporting requirement

The rule also implements a CARES Act requirement that all laboratories conducting COVID-19 testing report results to HHS daily, with fines for labs that don't comply.

By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 26, 2020

Trump admin delays final rule easing anti-kickback regs until next August

Devicemakers back proposed changes to the law, passed decades ago to deter physicians from referring patients to locations that give them a financial benefit, calling them outdated and burdensome.  

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 26, 2020

FDA-industry group touts real-world evidence framework to speed test development

The Medical Device Innovation Consortium, a collaboration between FDA and diagnostics makers like Abbott and Roche, offers a roadmap as COVID-19 accelerates use of newly generated data to update emergency authorizations. 

By Susan Kelly • Aug. 25, 2020

MedTech Europe beats drum for virtual audits, IVDR delay

The one-year delay to the EU Medical Device Regulation has been crucial, but there's been "radio silence" from lawmakers on calls for a similar delay to the In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation, said regulatory lead Oliver Bisazza.

By Maria Rachal • Aug. 24, 2020

Ex-Trump FDA chief rails against new HHS policy on lab developed tests

Scott Gottlieb took to Twitter on Saturday criticizing last week's decision by the administration that FDA will no longer require premarket review of LDTs. "FDA’s ability to protect public health could be challenged," he warned. 

By Greg Slabodkin • Aug. 24, 2020

Cold War law invoked for BD, Quidel to prioritize antigen test contracts

The Trump administration's use of the Defense Production Act comes amid rising demand for the tests that can be less accurate than traditional molecular diagnostics, but offer results within minutes.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Aug. 21, 2020

House panel demands HHS briefing on decision to nix premarket review for COVID-19 lab developed tests

On Thursday, Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., insisted the department explain its "deeply concerning" decision to allow coronavirus LDTs to come to market without FDA review.

By Greg Slabodkin • Updated Aug. 21, 2020

LumiraDx lands FDA's third COVID-19 antigen test EUA, as demand for rapid diagnostics rises

William Blair analysts questioned the immediate impact from the nod to the relatively small medtech, and instead looked ahead to the next potential big player to enter the market: Abbott.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Aug. 20, 2020

Eudamed's first section to go live before year's end

The European Commission is ready to move on the initial module of the new safety and performance database, created as part of the incoming Medical Device Regulation, ahead of a March 2021 deadline.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Aug. 19, 2020

CMS urges resumption of essential procedures, organ transplants for ESRD patients

Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease have 3.5 times heightened risk of COVID-19 infection, according to an HHS analysis of early claims data.

By Maria Rachal • Aug. 18, 2020

FEMA pitches voluntary DPA pact to bolster medical supply chain during pandemic

The Defense Production Act allows private companies to enter agreements with the government while avoiding antitrust liability. AdvaMed wants to participate but FEMA has not yet extended an invite.

By Greg Slabodkin • Aug. 18, 2020

Thermo Fisher COVID-19 test flagged for false positive and negative results

An FDA alert on Monday follows a quarter in which coronavirus-related products added $1.3 billion to the medtech's sales, and after it scored an HHS contract to provide processing instruments to labs.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Aug. 18, 2020

FDA looks to downclass noninvasive bone growth stimulators, incumbents not on board

The agency made a case for moving the devices to less-rigorous Class II regulation in a proposal opposed by manufacturers with products already on the market such as Orthofix.

By Susan Kelly • Aug. 17, 2020

FDA OKs Yale COVID-19 saliva test removing RNA extraction step

While the agency called the method potentially groundbreaking, one public health expert cautioned that the assay must be performed in highly specialized labs and is not considered a rapid test.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Aug. 17, 2020

HHS commits $6.5M to add Thermo Fisher, Beckman Coulter COVID-19 test supplies to Aegis, Sonic labs

The federal funding to scale testing, still dwarfed by government spending on vaccines, came the same week labs and providers urged the administration to update testing prioritization guidelines given limited resources.

By Greg Slabodkin • Aug. 14, 2020

Hospitals, docs pitch roadmap to keep essential surgeries going even with coronavirus surges

While many medtechs cast the worst of the pandemic's impact in the rearview mirror in recent financial reports, concerns from healthcare industry groups reflect a more nuanced picture. 

By Nick Paul Taylor • Aug. 14, 2020

CMS seeks to ease rules on artificial heart, ventricular assist device coverage

Potential eligibility changes for advanced heart failure patients drew positive feedback from Abbott and Medtronic, while removal of a coverage with evidence development policy has been opposed by several cardiologist groups.

By Maria Rachal • Aug. 13, 2020

Watchdog again pushes CMS to add UDIs to claim forms

The HHS Office of Inspector General said that without a place to ask for device-specific information, it's difficult for the agency to track billions of dollars in costs related to failed devices.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Aug. 13, 2020

Coronavirus muddies FDA's trajectory on device warning letters

An agency official said going into 2020 that its devices center would be better equipped to use the compliance tool in a timely fashion. But a dry spell for on-site surveillance may undermine any noticeable rebound.

By Maria Rachal • Updated Aug. 12, 2020

FDA posts Essure adverse events pulled from social media

The spreadsheet includes details of 53 deaths and 1,376 reports of serious injuries related to the controversial birth control implant but the agency is unsure if it contains duplicate reports. 

By Nick Paul Taylor • Updated Aug. 14, 2020

BD's FDA filing to update recalled Alaris pumps delayed by 6 months

The medtech planned to rectify the situation with FDA this year, but that schedule has slipped as it continues system testing and ongoing discussions with the agency. BD estimates remediation costs will total $200 million.

By Greg Slabodkin • Aug. 10, 2020

Notified bodies list for incoming EU regs hits 20 with designation of DQS for MDR

The 16 notified bodies now allowed to complete work under the Medical Device Regulation and the four OK'd under its In Vitro Diagnostic counterpart together meet the goal that authorities had hoped to achieve by the start of 2020.

By Nick Paul Taylor • Aug. 10, 2020

10 states now on board to buy Quidel, BD antigen tests

With the latest additions of Arkansas and Rhode Island, there are now five Democratic and five Republican governors each planning to acquire half a million of the rapid point-of-care diagnostics from the medtechs.

By Greg Slabodkin • Updated Aug. 19, 2020