A panel at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference touched on how multiple remote patient monitoring devices and management can be streamlined via machine learning to identify patients who need follow up, in many cases in their homes, increasing value without increasing the burden on already short-staffed health care organizations. The panelists saw technology as a way around a shortage of providers that could both increase access to care and deliver more targeted acute care while also addressing factors in health disparity to prevent development of disease.

Imperative Care Inc. received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for its Zoom Rdl radial access system for treatment of ischemic strokes. The device is designed to enhance radial access for removal of clots in patients with tortuous anatomy and other challenges to the femoral access typically used, providing more options for both patients and physicians.

Baxter International Inc. wasted no time in tackling its New Year’s resolution to trim down the business. On Friday morning, the company revealed details around the divestitures it foreshadowed in its third quarter 2022 earnings call with the announcement that it planned a tax-free spin off its Renal Care and Acute Therapies businesses into an independent, publicly traded company within the next 12 to 18 months.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (ZBH) agreed to acquire Embody Inc. for $155 million at closing with an additional $120 million in contingent milestone payments over the next three years. The deal includes Embody’s entire portfolio of collagen-based regenerative solutions for soft tissue injuries. The transaction is expected to close in February.

The new year kicked off with good news from the U.S. FDA for Onconano Medicine Inc. The agency granted the company’s pH-sensitive fluorescent nanoprobe, pegsitacianine, breakthrough therapy designation for use as an adjunct for visualization of metastases in the peritoneal cavity.

Burning Rock Biotech Ltd.’s share price flared up on Tuesday morning on news of U.S. FDA breakthrough device designation for its Overc multi-cancer detection blood test (MCDBT). The stock closed on Dec. 30, 2022, at $2.26 and rose sharply on the announcement to open at $2.89. By the end of the day, however, the stock had sunk to $2.15.

With many of the big names in med tech focused on streamlining their portfolios and spinning off divisions as independent companies, M&A activity sputtered through most of 2022. As the year comes to a close, however, deal volume has increased, with a strong trend toward acquisitions of closely related companies and units that bolstered higher-growth product lines and offered short cuts to filling in significant gaps in portfolios.

After a flood of deals with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that took dozens of med-tech and biotech companies public in 2021, deal flow slowed to a trickle in 2022. Market conditions factored into the collapse of interest, but regulatory changes also played a significant role. Still, several notable companies made their market debuts via SPACs in 2022 – and one changed its mind mid-stream.

The success of new year’s resolutions for 2023 won’t be known for months to come, but from the vantage point of December, it is easy to see that many large med-tech companies resolved to shed excess weight in 2022 – and did so in dramatic fashion. Some big-name players decided that they would be more agile, and better rewarded by shareholders, with a trimmer portfolio, while others saw value in setting internal operating units free as new companies. As part of our year in review, BioWorld looks at the big deals, the new companies and the impact of all these actions on 2023.

It’s a little early for St. Patrick’s Day, but the green is surely flowing for Acutus Medical Inc. as the company achieved its second milestone under the terms of its asset purchase agreement with Medtronic plc and triggered a $17 million payment.