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.
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.
Medtronic plc received U.S. FDA approval for the expanded redo TAVR indication of the Evolut transcatheter aortic valve replacement system. The approval allows for valve-in-valve implantation of a new Evolut valve inside a failed previously implanted TAV made by any manufacturer in patients with severe aortic stenosis considered high-risk for open-heart surgery.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported Aug. 27 that Susan Monarez no longer occupies the post of director for the CDC, a development that arose within hours of the FDA’s approval of two COVID-19 vaccines with historically restrictive labeled indications.
Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. received an FDA complete response letter (CRL) a day after the Aug. 27 PDUFA date for its BLA for radiopharmaceutical renal cancer imaging agent, Zircaix (TLX250-CDx, 89Zr-DFO-girentuximab).