During a conference call on Tuesday, Medtronic (Minneapolis) executives revealed that the upcoming medical device tax could have a net impact of about $175 million per calendar year for the company. The med-tech giant said for its 2013 fiscal year, which finishes up at the end of April 2013, the cost would be about $40 million to $60 million.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J; New Brunswick, New Jersey) and its DePuy (Warsaw, Indiana) orthopedics division are both coming under fire after an article in The New York Times reported that the firm continued to market its articular surface replacement (ASR) hip implant overseas after the FDA rejected the sale of the device in the U.S.

It’s doubtful that Britney Spears’ 12-year-old hit single, Oops! . . . I did it again, entered into Roche’s mind when the firm disclosed a hostile takeover bid to acquire Illumina late last month for $44.50 a share in cash, or about $5.7 billion. Okay,  maybe doubtful isn’t the right word. Maybe I should say that there was no chance in the world that Roche even considered this song when describing its takeover bid. But to those who have followed Roche closely throughout the past few years, the song seems to fit Roche’s attempts to acquire the DNA sequencing company...