Augmedics Inc., a Chicago-based startup focused on augmented reality (AR) applications in health care, has scored a 510(k) clearance from the U.S. FDA for its Xvision Spine system. The company launched the device, which provides surgeons with X-ray quality insights into a patient’s anatomy and real-time surgical navigation, on Monday, with distribution slated to begin in the new year. While the FDA has cleared other AR products, Xvision Spine (XVS) is the first to be indicated for guided surgery.

Four new U.S. drug approvals, one accelerated for need, have handed a string of year-end victories to five drugmakers, marking an unusually active start to a week full of global holiday celebrations. Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd., Astrazeneca plc, Eisai Inc., Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. and Allergan plc all secured new approvals from the agency. Daiichi's Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan), the subject of a $6.9 billion deal with Astrazeneca, won accelerated approval for the third-line treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. Eisai's Dayvigo (lemborexant) was approved to treat insomnia. Intra-Cellular's Caplyta (lumateperone) was approved to treat schizophrenia. Allergan’s Ubrelvy (ubrogepant) became the first of a relatively new class of drugs to be approved for the acute treatment of migraine.

The exclusion of makers of devices and drugs from a proposed overhaul of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) probably took many in industry by surprise, but Premier Inc., of Charlotte, N.C., argued that this approach fails to capitalize on an opportunity to hold manufacturers accountable for clinical outcomes in value-based arrangements.

Following lengthy consultations with industry, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has released its new regulatory framework for in vitro companion diagnostics (IVD CDx) that becomes effective in February.

The much-maligned medical device tax was finally laid to rest Dec. 20, as President Donald Trump signed a spending bill that included a permanent repeal of the tax. The 2.3% excise tax on devices was brought into the statute via the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and its repeal brings much-needed breathing room to small device makers.