Payers had their hands full in 2025 dealing with the raft of medical technologies that came through the globe’s regulatory review processes, although the nature of many of those challenges were conventional. On the other hand, payers struggled to keep pace with both the volume of conventional devices and the novelty of AI-driven devices in 2025, a problem that will carry over into the coming year.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. received U.S. FDA approval for its Sapien M3 mitral valve replacement system, making it the first transcatheter therapy utilizing a transseptal approach to be indicated for treatment of mitral regurgitation (MR). The Sapien M3 transcatheter mitral valve replacement system is indicated for the treatment of patients with symptomatic moderate-to-severe or severe MR or symptomatic mitral valve dysfunction who are deemed unsuitable for surgery or TEER by a multidisciplinary heart team.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Dec. 23 that Bryan Scott McMillen has agreed to pay a total of more than $140,000 due to allegations of insider trading in connection with Boston Scientific Corp.’s acquisition of Apollo Endosurgery Inc. The failure of federal authorities to prosecute McMillan under the criminal code may be a reflection of the relatively small sums he had illicitly obtained in the transaction. A Department of Justice investigation resulted in a conviction for $1 billion in health care fraud.

Two years after the U.S. FDA approved the first pulsed field ablation system, Abbott Laboratories finally got the regulatory nod for its Volt PFA system. Abbott follows Medtronic plc, Boston Scientific Corp., Johnson & Johnson and Kardium Inc. in receiving approval for its approval for use of its PFA device to treat atrial fibrillation.

Two U.S. Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) have removed CPT code 6468 from their group 1 CPT codes, a move that may cut rates for implant of Inspire Medical Inc.'s flagship product, the Inspire hypoglossal nerve stimulator for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) issued new scientific statements advocating use of quantified coronary plaque analyses in management of patients with coronary artery disease. The statements move plaque analysis based on AI-powered coronary computed tomography angiography to a defined clinical consideration in cardiac management, up from "an emerging technology."

The Trump administration has made known that it intends to foster rapid adoption of AI, starting with a repeal of an executive order (EO) issued by the Biden administration. Now, the White House has issued an EO that would override state AI law, a move that addresses a task that Congress to date has failed to complete.

Ultromics Ltd. secured a strategic investment from the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Venture Fund to advance the use of its technology to help clinicians better identify women suffering from heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The condition goes undiagnosed in millions of women, who are disproportionately affected by HFpEF. Ultromics’ Echogo Heart Failure software analyzes routine ultrasound scans to quantify heart function and identify patterns that signal HFpEF.  

The FDA’s final guidance for the use of real-world evidence (RWE) was touted by FDA commissioner Marty Makary as opening the door to the use of existing de-identified data in premarket device submissions, but the final guidance lends also clarifies a couple of points about when an investigational device exemption will be needed for RWE studies.

Medline Inc. returned to the public markets with a blockbuster IPO of $6.26 billion, reportedly this year’s largest IPO globally. The upsized offering of more than 216 million shares at $29 per share will allow the medical supply giant to devote the entirety of the proceeds from its initially proposed 179 million shares toward repayment of debt.