defibrillators

Under new legislation floated in Minnesota, medical device manufacturers could wind up paying the entire bill for a patient's treatment and rehabilitation when a pacemaker or defibrillator is recalled. Congressman Tony Cornish (R) introduced the legislation Monday, saying it is unfair for either Medicare or private insurers to have to pay for a device maker's mistakes. Leading device companies Medtronic, Guidant and Boston Scientific all have production facilities in the state. Device …

Attorneys for patients who must have Guidant pacemakers removed say the company's offer of $2,500 doesn't come anywhere near covering the costs of the procedure. The pacemaker recall affects thousands of patients who learned they have faulty pacemakers and defibrillators when Guidant disclosed a series of serious malfunctions involving the units. The replacement surgery is proving difficult, heart specialists say, because of a risk that the lead attaching the device to the heart can …

The Bush administration's budget proposals for FY 2007 would reduce funding for a long list of popular healthcare programs, and eliminate others completely, the Washington Post reports. About $1 billion in state healthcare grants would be killed. This includes a program that provides defibrillators to rural areas, a center for traumatic brain injuries, and a national registry for Lou Gehrig's disease. The budget would also eliminate the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis …

Johnson & Johnson has until today to raise its offer for Guidant. Many analysts think its unlikely J&J will fork over more than the $24.2 billion it has already offered to beat a larger bid from Boston Scientific. But on the other hand, it is increasingly obvious how important Guidant's business could be to the company's future. J&J turned in final results for 2005 today, reporting so-so drug sales but great numbers from its medical device and diagnostic services units, with …

A new survey finds venture capital investors pumped more than $2.1 billion into medical device companies last year, the most since 2000. The annual Money Tree Survey found that about 28 percent of venture capital money went to the med tech and biotech sectors. That's more than the 25 percent that went to software start-ups in 2005. The growth in med tech was led by investments in companies that make knee replacements, defibrillators and "other devices for which demand is expected to …

In the future, when business school classes meet to discuss the things that can go wrong when two companies decide to merge, it's likely that Guidant's agreement to be acquired by Johnson & Johnson will be held up as a key case study. Things went wrong almost from the start for the Indianapolis-based device maker, which found its case for a merger seriously damaged by the publicity surrounding major recalls of key pacemaker and defibrillator lines. At the time of writing, barring a …

Boston Scientific offered to pay about $25 billion for rival device maker Guidant, topping an earlier bid by Johnson & Johnson by nearly $3 billion. Boston Scientific Chairman Pete Nicholas said his company is interested in its competitor's defibrillator and pacemaker lines. The deal would create a medical device superpower, uniting two dominant powers in the medical device industry. Nicholas acknowledged that Boston Scientific would probably have to sell off Guidant's stent business …

Remote monitoring of implantable devices like defibrillators is slowly becoming mainstream. An article in the Chicago Tribune examines devices from Biotronik and Guidant which use wireless technology to report in every night from the patient's home. One outcome in these days of recalls is that any possible defect in devices can be monitored immediately. Dr. Niraj Varma, director of the electrophysiology lab at Loyola University Health System in Maywood, IL, notes: "If you have …

Guidant said it will settle a lawsuit filed by the family of Joshua Oukrop, a 21-year-old Minnesota man who died after his defibrillator failed. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The Oukrop story, first reported by The New York Times, led to a series of major recalls and a formal investigation by federal authorities. The device maker has since restructured its merger with Johnson & Johnson at a marked down price. Guidant said it faces about 45 similar …

Guidant released a 153-page report containing detailed information about its defibrillator and pacemaker lines in an attempt to restore confidence in its products. The data appears to back the company's argument that faulty leads, not defibrillators or pacemakers, were to blame for some recent problems. The report also includes additional specifics about device failures and outcomes, details which the company has refused to reveal in the past. Some cardiologists welcomed the move. …