You can’t fault Alcon AG’s focus. In the midst of an extended series of acquisitions, the company has a clear vision of creating a deep ophthalmic treatment pipeline – and diagnostics fall outside that line of sight.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported Sept. 3 that it will engage in “active enforcement” of information blocking rules, each violation of which carries a fine that may reach seven figures.

Sparks flew both ways Sept. 4 as Democratic senators pushed for Robert Kennedy to resign as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during a Senate Finance Committee hearing ostensibly held to discuss the Trump administration’s 2026 health care agenda. But with Kennedy the only witness, the hearing focused on Kennedy’s perceived failings as HHS secretary. “The United States is in the midst of a health care calamity,” Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in his opening comments, which were laden with personal attacks.

Kardium Inc.’s Globe pulsed field system received U.S. FDA premarket approval, making it the fourth PFA system in the rapidly expanding market for cardiac ablation for atrial fibrillation. The system’s introducer sheath and mapping software also received clearance.

The Sept. 3 congressional hearing on AI in health care raised questions about whether the U.S. FDA enjoys the statutory authorities it needs to properly regulate this class of products, but witnesses at the hearing said a lack of trust in AI is a substantial roadblock to adoption.

The Office of Inspector General recently reported that billings for remote patient monitoring eclipsed the $500 million mark in 2024, but the agency stated that more scrutiny will be necessary going forward to keep waste, fraud and abuse at bay.

Cyted Health Ltd. raised $44 million in a series B financing round to expand the reach of Endosign, its capsule sponge technology, in the U.S. Endosign is a minimally invasive device used to collect cell samples from the esophagus for the early detection of esophageal diseases, offering the potential to transform early cancer detection and improve health outcomes.

Medtronic plc reported that its soon-to-be spun out diabetes business scored two key regulatory wins.

A district judge has issue an Aug. 27 ruling enjoining Biosense Webster Inc. from tying its support for cardiac mapping equipment to purchases of the company’s catheters used in these procedures. According to the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors, the ruling triples previously announced damages, which will now cost Biosense nearly $450 million for violations of state and federal antitrust law.

Two days after the ouster of Susan Monarez as CDC director on Aug. 27, HHS confirmed to BioWorld that James O’Neill is serving as acting director. O’Neill was previously Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. He has also served as the CEO of the SENS Research Foundation, which merged with Lifespan.io in 2024. The resulting Lifespan Research Institute describes itself as “focused on the defeat of age-related disease and the extension of healthy human lifespan” on its website.