PERTH, Australia – Australia’s TGA issued new guidance to help device manufacturers better understand new classifications for active medical devices, including software-based medical devices, and clinical decision support software.

Feops SA reported that its Heartguide product has received de novo authorization from the FDA for pre-operative planning of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAo) with the Boston Scientific Corp. Watchman device. The software platform is designed to help physicians virtually model clinical scenarios with different implant positions and sizes of the Watchman device using digital twin technology based on patient-specific virtual replicas of the heart. It is currently commercially available in the EU, U.K., Canada and Australia for transcatheter aortic valve implantation and LAAo workflows.

The FDA reported Oct. 14 that software used with the Alinity m test kit by Abbott Laboratories is being recalled for the potential for false positive results, a problem due to software used to automate the processing of the test. This recall was originally issued in mid-September, but the Abbott Park, Ill.-based company is advising labs to treat any test result as presumptive at best.

A few months after disclosing its merger with Chiasma Inc., Amryt plc rolled out second quarter financials pleasing to Wall Street, where considerable interest has begun to manifest in the company’s epidermolysis bullosa program with Filsuvez, also known as Oleogel-S10.

The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee unanimously agreed to recommend a booster dose of Janssen Biotech Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine for those age 18 years and older at least two months following the first dose. In the end, the vote swung on numbers from Janssen showing a booster significantly improved efficacy among study participants. Janssen’s data leaped to 94% protection after a booster dose, up from 70% efficacy following the first dose. That higher efficacy rate nearly matches that of the mRNA vaccines from Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc.-Biontech SE.

Glaukos Corp., of San Clemente, Calif., has taken another step forward in obtaining global market access for its Istent device for glaucoma with a positive coverage recommendation in Canada. Health Quality Ontario (HQO) has recommended that taxpayer dollars be used to cover the device in conjunction with cataract surgery, although the endorsement is limited to patients with mild to moderate glaucoma that is not well controlled with pressure-lowering medications.

The shortage of European notified bodies (NBs) for in vitro diagnostics has prompted calls from industry to delay the compliance dates for the In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR), and the European Commission has responded with a proposed fix. The Commission proposed to give IVDs that are already on the market until May 2025 or later to obtain new CE marks, but the change requires the assent of the European Parliament and the European Council before it goes into force.