Following Siemens Healthineers AG’s announcement that it was picking up Varian Medical Systems Inc. for $16.4 billion, another multibillion-dollar deal has emerged. This time, Teladoc Health Inc. and Livongo Health Inc. have inked a definitive merger agreement with a value of $18.5 billion. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter, subject to shareholder approvals and other customary closing conditions. Read More

People with diabetes are at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy (DR), an eye condition that can cause vision loss and blindness. However, early detection and treatment can slow its progress. To that end, the Food and Drug Administration has cleared the way for Eyenuk Inc. to market its Eyeart autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) system for DR screening in the U.S. Read More

Developers of tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus have gained a tremendous amount of experience in a very small amount of time, and of all the media for sampling, saliva offers the easiest route for test administration. The U.S. FDA’s Tim Stenzel said on the Aug. 5 testing town hall, however, that the FDA and developers have discovered that this is an extremely difficult medium to work with. Read More

PARIS – France’s Medical Device and Health Technology Evaluation Committee (CNEDiMTS), has published it latest annual activity report. This committee of the French National Authority for Health (HAS) evaluates medical devices with a view to their coverage by L’Assurance Maladie, the body which manages health care in France. Read More

Saykara Inc.’s artificial intelligence (AI) assistant enabled the Midwest Institute for Minimally Invasive Therapies (MIMIT Health) to boost practice productivity five-fold. The voice-enabled iOS-based app, named Kara, drafts visit summaries, updates the electronic health record, produces prescriptions, and more with limited involvement from clinicians. Read More

New hires and promotions in the med-tech industry, including: Corvent Medical. Read More

Med-tech firms raising money in public or private financings, including: Emergent Biosolutions, Medx Health, Veracyte. Read More

Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Veracyte. Read More

Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Aura Smart Air, Axim, Back 2 Basics Direct, BehaVR, Biotechnologies, Brainworks, Entrepix Medical, Eurofins, Fujirebio Diagnostics, H.U. Group Holdings, Iremedy, Medtronic, MeMD, Merchavia Holdings and Investments, Mevion Medical Systems, Orbbö Surgical, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Targetcancer Foundation, Tecan Group, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Trendlines Group, Withmydoc, W.L. Gore, Viacyte, Wishbone Medical, Zenzium. Read More

Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Endologix, Eyenuk, Life Spine, Neumodx, Roche, Sentinel Diagnostics, Siemens Healthineers. Read More

The latest global regulatory news, changes and updates affecting medical devices and technologies, including: Advamed, CME America, MDMA. Read More

Keeping you up to date on recent developments in orthopedics, including: Implanted neural stem cell grafts show functionality in spinal cord injuries; Silk scaffolds and magnetism to generate bone tissue and be able to use it in implants; Hydrogel paves way for biomedical breakthrough; New strategy against osteoporosis. Read More