Bone Health Technologies Inc. may be on the verge of upstaging a common drug therapy, but don't tell them to break a leg. The San Francisco-based company's Osteoboost Vibration Belt received a U.S. FDA breakthrough designation for technology that delivers gentle stimulation to reduce bone loss and prevent osteoporosis with the goal of reducing the number of potentially devastating broken bones in the elderly.
Sonivie Ltd. has won breakthrough device designation from the U.S. FDA for the Therapeutic Intra-Vascular Ultrasound (TIVUS) system for renal artery denervation (RDN) to treat resistant hypertension. At the same time, the company revealed that it has bought the remaining intellectual property and other assets related to the use of the TIVUS System from Cardiosonic Inc.
NEW DELHI – Recent changes to India’s rules on medical devices have evoked mixed reaction among industry and legal experts with concerns over their impact on patenting of innovations tinged with a welcome reception of a new clause for mandatory registration and licensing of medical devices in the country to improve adherence to quality requirements.
LONDON – After a year in the mill, the U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has put proposals for how it intends to evaluate drugs, devices and diagnostics in the future out for consultation.
Taiwan’s FDA rolled out two new supplementary regulations on periodic safety updates and adverse event notifications for medical devices in October. They are part of its Medical Device Management Law that was reported on Jan. 15. As Taiwan is stepping up innovation of and regulation for medical devices, the nation for the first time decided to separate the regulation of medical devices from pharmaceutical products.
Patient perspectives on medical device development are becoming much more central to the U.S. FDA’s regulation of devices, thus the August 2020 draft guidance for selection of patient-reported outcome instruments for device evaluation.
Intersect ENT Inc., a sinusitis implant company, reported $22.7 million in third quarter revenue, driven largely by a rebound in procedures with its Propel implants for chronic rhinosinusitis. This figure marks a 6% decline from the $24.1 million reported in the third quarter of 2019.
Patient perspectives on medical device development are becoming much more central to the U.S. FDA’s regulation of devices, thus the August 2020 draft guidance for selection of patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments for device evaluation. However, the draft is sufficiently vague on the question of when an existing PRO can be tweaked without an entirely new validation study to prompt the Advanced Medical Technology Association (Advamed) to press the agency for more clarity on that point.
PARIS – Fineheart SA has announced the success of a 30-day preclinical trial to evaluate its implantable cardiac output management system (ICOMS) for patients suffering from severe heart failure. The device was well-tolerated with no related adverse events seen during the 30 days.
The PMA for the Neovasc Reducer device for treatment of drug-refractory angina faltered at an Oct. 27 U.S. FDA advisory committee, but it wasn’t for lack of support from star-power cardiologists. Gregg Stone, of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, gave an impassioned plea for approval, pointing out that these patients have few options if they are poor candidates for bypass grafting or percutaneous coronary intervention. Stone said, “this is really a desperate patient cohort,” adding that a two-class improvement in angina severity “is a robust reduction.”