The long-term use of ventricular assist devices is becoming a problem for at least some of these devices, as demonstrated by the recall of the Heartmate II and Heartmate 3 devices by Abbott Laboratories’ Abbott Vascular division due to obstruction of the outflow graft used to attach the device to the human heart.

With the recent hack of Change Healthcare back in the news, a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives took up the subject of cybersecurity, which included only a couple of mentions of medical devices. However, witnesses at the hearing emphasized the role of the federal government in thwarting foreign cybersecurity threats against health care facilities, with John Riggi of the American Hospital Association stating, “we need the [federal] government to go after bad actors overseas.”

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Keith Berman, formerly the CEO of Los Angeles-based Decision Diagnostics Corp., has received a prison sentence of seven years for misrepresenting the company’s developmental test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the inpatient draft for fiscal 2025, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed an accountable care model for beneficiaries on fee-for-service care, one which is designed to provide the coordination of care ordinarily seen only in accountable care organizations.

The Hatch-Waxman Act provides a safe harbor that allows importation of an FDA-regulated article that would otherwise be deemed a case of patent infringement so long as the importation is for purposes reasonably related to obtaining regulatory approval. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. sued Meril Life Sciences Pvt Ltd. for importation of heart valves in a manner that Edwards argued was infringement under Hatch-Waxman, but while the Federal Circuit ruled 2-1 against Edwards, the dissenting opinion recommended an appeal to a full 12-judge panel that could reverse this outcome.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed a few significant changes to the new technology add-on program for the fiscal year 2025 inpatient prospective payment system, including a boost in NTAP rates for gene therapy services.

The Hatch-Waxman Act provides a safe harbor that allows importation of an FDA-regulated article that would otherwise be deemed a case of patent infringement so long as the importation is for purposes reasonably related to obtaining regulatory approval. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. sued Meril Life Sciences Pvt Ltd. for importation of heart valves in a manner that Edwards argued was infringement under Hatch-Waxman, but while the Federal Circuit ruled 2-1 against Edwards, the dissenting opinion recommended an appeal to a full 12-judge panel that could reverse this outcome.

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration decided to take another look at the regulatory definition of the clinical decision support (CDS) system, a move driven by technological advances and some confusion as to what type of CDS is exempt from registration requirements.

The U.S. FDA and Department of Justice have announced a consent decree entered into district court that enjoins Philips Respironics LLC North America from manufacturing and distributing respiratory devices from three company facilities in the state of Pennsylvania.

While the notion of a medical device single review program is still more aspirational than respirational, a number of nations are shifting incrementally toward mutual recognition for medical devices.