Relief Srl raised more than €1 million (US$1.08 million) in financing for Urorelief, its endourethral medical device which treats stress urinary incontinence. The Italian startup will use the funds to conduct clinical trials to validate the device as it looks to transform the lives of men and women suffering from the condition.

In a flurry of news releases on Feb. 27, Teleflex Inc. reported plans to buy the vascular intervention business of Biotronik SE & Co. for €760 million (US$791 million), said it intended to split into two separate public companies, floated a $300 million accelerated share repurchase program and reported the impending retirement of Chief Financial Officer Thomas Powell. The news sent the company stock down more than 20%.

Fifty percent of infertility cases arise from issues with the male partner, but standard protocols often delay the first assessment of males for at least two years. Posterity Health Inc. aims to usher in a new generation of fertility care starting with its just-closed $13 million series A financing round.

Med-tech companies focusing on cardiovascular diseases or neurological conditions, women’s health or robotic surgery, will find European investors willing to deploy capital into their stories. European venture capital firms are excited about the continuing innovation and opportunities in the sector.

Concluding a two-year journey, Baxter International Inc.’s kidney care unit finally separated from the company and started a new life as Vantive, following the closing on Jan. 31 of its $3.8 billion sale to the Carlyle Group Inc.

Murray Hill, N.J.-based C.R. Bard Inc. agreed to pay roughly $17 million to settle allegations that it violated the Anti-Kickback Statute in connection with the use of a self-referral form for sales of the company’s intermittent catheter.

Accunea Ltd. is looking to reduce the number of kidneys that are discarded with its bioanalysis technology Renosure, which can detect critical changes in organ function in real-time, both before and after transplantation. The company is looking to raise £1.6 million (US$2 million) to develop the device which could transform the lives of people requiring a kidney transplant.

At least half of women experience urinary incontinence at some point in their lives but few discuss the condition with their physicians. In part, that’s because most women believe few effective treatments exist for urinary leakage – and until recently, they were right. Several advances in 2024, however, offer new hope.

Sequana Medical NV received premarket approval from the U.S. FDA for its Alfapump system to treat recurrent or refractory ascites due to liver cirrhosis. Data from the Poseidon pivotal study showed the implantable device, which removes ascites from the abdomen into the bladder, can eliminate the need for therapeutic paracentesis, improving the quality of life of patients.

Merit Medical Systems Inc. received an early holiday gift this year, reporting that its Wrapsody cell-impermeable endoprosthesis has received premarket approval from the U.S. FDA and plans to begin commercialization of the device there in 2025.