Med-tech deal value, covering licensing agreements, joint ventures and development collaborations, through the first half (H1) of 2026 reached $5.28 billion, the second-highest H1 total behind 2023’s $6.88 billion.
Boston Scientific Corp. cut its guidance for the year on the back of increasing pressure on its Watchman and electrophysiology businesses, two units which have performed strongly in recent years.
Boston Scientific Corp. came out the all-around winner July 27 when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a jury verdict that found the med-tech company’s drug-eluting coronary stent systems infringed a University of Texas System patent.
Medtronic plc’s recent launch of the Viaverte basivertebral nerve ablation system and completion of the acquisition of SPR Therapeutics Inc. broadens its chronic pain offering and strengthens its ability to treat patients across the pain care continuum.
Johnson & Johnson this week launched its dual-energy Thermocool Smarttouch SF platform in Europe bringing another option to physicians looking to enhance their electrophysiology procedures. The system combines radiofrequency (RF) and pulsed field ablation in one device to treat atrial fibrillation, entering what is becoming an increasingly crowded market for cardiac ablation technology.
Med-tech M&A value through the first five months of 2026 reached $62.98 billion, the highest total for the period since 2022’s $84.13 billion and a dramatic step up from 2025’s $22.4 billion and 2024’s $21.86 billion over the same stretch.
Medtronic plc is strengthening its pain management portfolio with its $650 million move to buy SPR Therapeutics Inc. and bring the company’s peripheral nerve stimulation system for sustained pain relief into its neuromodulation offering. The deal marks Medtronic’s third tuck-in deal so far this year, following its $585 million purchase of Cathworks Ltd. and $550 million acquisition of Scientia Vascular Inc., and is also a sign of the momentum in M&A activity in the medtech sector with other players making strategic acquisitions.
As interests and competition in the intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) market heats up, Shockwave Medical Inc. said it believes that its latest coronary IVL catheter, the C2 Aero, and other projects in the pipeline, will help it to maintain its leadership in calcium modification.
A subgroup analysis of data from Boston Scientific Corp.’s Champion-AF trial, which looked at the outcomes for patients with atrial fibrillation treated with a left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) device compared to direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), found that the efficacy and safety of LAAC compared to DOAC are not affected by age. The data were presented at the EuroPCR conference in Paris.
Boston Scientific Corp. reported positive results from the Fracture investigational device exemption trial which evaluated its Seismiq 4CE coronary intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) catheter in patients with severely calcified coronary artery disease. Late-breaking data presented at the EuroPCR conference in Paris showed that the pivotal study met its primary safety and effectiveness endpoints, with high rates of freedom from major adverse cardiac events at 30 days and strong procedural success.
