Is the U.S. getting the best return on investment (ROI) for its NIH buck? That’s the basic question at the heart of a white paper Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) issued May 9 to continue a conversation he started in September on the reforms needed at the country’s premier biomedical research institution.

One-year results of the DETOUR2 trial published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery demonstrate outstanding results for Endologix LLC’s percutaneous transmural arterial bypass system for treatment of severe peripheral artery disease. The study showed nearly all patients experienced improvement in acute limb ischemia with freedom from occlusion of 92% and freedom from revascularization of nearly 88% at 12 months.

The U.S. FDA has taken off the gloves when it comes to device warning letters. One recent example is the April 3 warning letter to Bioptimal International Ltd., of Shenzen, China, which did not score well with the agency on routine good manufacturing practices. Perhaps more conspicuous was that the company was selling catheters that had undergone significant changes without a new regulatory filing – a seemingly common theme in recent FDA device warning letters.

Route 92 Medical Inc., of San Mateo, Calif., reported a class I recall of nearly 1,000 microcatheters because of reports of separation of the distal tip of the catheter, which is associated with two injuries and one reported death. The company indicated that the problematic catheters had been manufactured by an unidentified contract supplier, once again highlightingthe hazards of a failure to properly oversee the contract manufacture of critical medical devices.

Med-tech deal value increased in April, reaching $172.37 million, a 538% bump from March’s $27 million. However, the monthly average for deal value in 2024 stands at $140.68 million, reflecting an 84% decline from the 2023 monthly average of $886.13 million.