Japan’s Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) has jumped on board the e-consent train for clinical trials, publishing a guidance for the use of electronic means for obtaining a study participant’s informed consent.
Amsterdam-based Royal Philips NV reported that it has come to terms with customers and end users of its respiratory equipment to the tune of $479 million, which will reimburse for the cost of these systems. The problem for the company is that the settlement does not affect any personal injury cases, and thus represents only a partial closure of a controversy that has dogged the company for several years.
While the U.S. FDA’s preclinical and clinical trial framework is generally well-suited to adapt to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in developing new drugs, its regulatory framework for medical devices that incorporate evolving AI leaves a lot to be desired, according to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee.
Laborie Medical Technologies Inc. continued a string of recent deals with an agreement to acquire Urotronic Inc. for $255 million cash up front with an additional $345 million in payments contingent on meeting specified commercial and reimbursement milestones. Laborie already held a minority interest in the manufacturer of the Optilume drug-coated balloon technology for treatment of urethral strictures and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
The U.S. FDA’s concerns about the 510(k) program over the past decade-plus are practically the stuff of regulatory urban legend, but the agency has just unveiled a trio of draft guidances to address some of those concerns. Perhaps the most significant of these is a draft guidance for selection of a predicate device for a 510(k) filing, a document that may come across to industry as little more than an attempt to limit the devices that a manufacturer can recite in a 510(k) filing.
The U.S. FDA recently posted another round of recalls for the Cardiosave line of intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs) by Datascope Corp., advising users to make sure they have a backup unit at the ready in the case of device failure. However, the agency noted that “alternative treatments are limited,” a clear sign that this market lacks competition, most likely due to a lack of incentives for the private sector to invest in this class of devices.
The U.S. FDA has given Aquedeon Medical Inc. the green light to conduct an IDE clinical trial of its Duett vascular graft system. The device is designed to improve outcomes in surgical thoracic aortic procedures by simplifying treatment of target vessels and reducing overall procedure time.
Imeka Solutions Inc. has received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for the Advanced Neuro Diagnostic Imaging system designed to provide neurologists and radiologists with vital reference information on cerebral white matter for better management of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s. This comes on the heels of two new CPT 3 codes for quantitative brain MRI assessment which Imeka expects its clients will begin taking advantage of by January 2024.
Dublin-based Medtronic plc. has invested considerable resources into its renal denervation program, but the company has not completed its regulatory journey for the U.S. market just yet. Medtronic failed to persuade an FDA advisory committee of the virtues of its Symplicity Spyral device due to inconsistent results from the two major studies presented at the hearing but vowed to keep working on the application despite the sustained headwinds.
Levita Magnetics International Corp. received uplifting news this week as the U.S. FDA cleared its magnetic-Assisted Robotic Surgery (MARS) minimally invasive surgical platform. MARS builds on the company’s first product, the Levita magnetic surgical system, by providing greater control of surgical instruments to surgeons. The platform is cleared for use in bariatric, colorectal, gallbladder and prostate surgeries.