MW Industries, a provider of highly engineered springs, specialty fasteners, machined parts, and other precision components, has acquired LaVezzi Precision Inc. — manufacturer of precision-machined components used by the medical-device industry. Located in Bloomingdale, Ill., LaVezzi was founded more than 100 years ago as a manufacturer of components for motion-picture projectors. The company reinvented itself in…
Tomorrow is Medical Alley Day in Minnesota
April 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has declared tomorrow as Medical Alley Day in the state — the same day the state’s Medical Alley Association is holding its annual meeting in downtown Minneapolis. The North Star State is one of three major medical device hubs in the U.S., the other two being California and Massachusetts. Dayton noted in his
Nelson Labs expands lab operations at Illinois facility
April 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Nelson Labs recently announced that it has invested in expanding its operations and service capabilities at its Itasca, Ill. facility. The investment will offer upgrades to the laboratory facilities, in addition to a 10,000 sq. ft building expansion and renovated lab space. The upgrades will include a BI sterility suite to support EO sterilization validations
FDA OKs Opus breast implant line from Sientra, with Lubrizol manufacturing
April 20, 2018 By Leave a Comment
The FDA this week granted a pre-market approval supplement to Sientra (NSDQ:SIEN) for its Opus line of silicone breast implants. The implants are made in Wisconsin by Lubrizol LifeSciences subsidiary Vesta, which inked a contract manufacturing deal with Sientra back in August 2016. Sales of Sientra’s silicone breast implants ground to a halt in the autumn of 2015, when […]
OCTANe announces partnership with Small Cap Nation
April 19, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Orange County, Calif.–based life sciences accelerator organization OCTANe recently announced a strategic partnership with Small Cap Nation (SCN), a New York City–based financial media content distribution platform. SCN delivers breaking, on-demand news and information related to the domestic and international small-cap sector. It recently opened a Silicon Valley office. “This partnership will open an important source of capital
Cadence snapped up by private equity firm Kohlberg & Co.
April 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Officials at high-precision components and finished devices maker Cadence are selling the Staunton, Va.–based company to private equity outfit Kohlberg & Co. Financial terms of the definitive agreement, announced yesterday, were not disclosed. Cadence makes components and devices for advanced surgical and specialty industrial applications. Cadence CEO Alan Connor will continue to lead the company, and
TT Electonics wraps up acquisition of Stadium Group
April 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment
TT Electronics (Woking, U.K.) said today that it has completed its purchase of Stadium Group, a Reading, U.K.–based supplier of connectivity products and services, power supplies, human-machine interface (HMI) and electronic assemblies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Stadium products are used in applications including medical equipment, smart home, industrial robotics and aircraft cabin controls
Minnesota digital health companies are raking in the big bucks
April 17, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Minnesota-based medtech companies raised $112 million in venture capital during the first quarter of this year, according to a report from Medical Alley Association. More than half of the companies that raised VC were consumer-focused healthcare and digital health, a change for the region that is known for its implantable cardio devices and neuromodulation. Investors
Medtech’s top leaders commit to interoperability – but can the data back it up?
April 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Integrating data into the care process holds a great deal of promise for the healthcare industry. But medical device industry leaders agree that there are system complexities that need to be solved — with lack of good data a critical issue. That was a major takeaway from a Healthcare Technology Leadership Panel at the 6th Annual
China’s private hospital revenue expected to triple by 2019
April 13, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Grace Palma, China Med Device The public healthcare system in China is getting overcrowded. Medical resources are getting stretched thin and this is particularly evident in level III public hospitals. The government, aware of the challenges, has opened up the healthcare system to private investments as outlined in its 13th five-year plan. At the same time,
Tekni-Plex expands medical tubing offerings through Dunn Industries buy
April 6, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Tekni-Plex (Wayne, Pa.) said today that it has acquired Dunn Industries, a Manchester, N.H.–based maker of specialty extrusion tubing for medical device uses. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Dunn buy is the seventh acquisition Tekni-Plex has made in the past four years as it seeks to grow both organically and through acquisitions.
This patented 3D printing method could boost medical device innovation
April 5, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Michael McAlpine, a 3D printing pioneer at the University of Minnesota, suspects that a method he helped invent to print semiconductors could help boost innovation in the medical device field and elsewhere. The U.S. Patent Office in February issued a patent for “3D printed active electronic materials and devices.” The patent covers work that McAlpine, a
RxFunction raises $7.5 million for its wearable sensory prosthesis
April 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Medical wearable startup RxFunction (Eden Prairie, Minn.) announced today that it has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding as it prepares for market launch of its Walkasins wearable sensory prosthesis. The round, which surpassed RxFunction’s initial $5 million funding goal, was led by Edina, Minn.–based Cedar Point Capital, a boutique investment banking firm. The
ResMed is disrupting connected health: Here’s how
April 3, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Here’s how a respiratory firm took control of the connected health and the medtech digital revolution. When you think powerful digital connected devices, the first thing to pop into your head probably isn’t a CPAP. Continuous positive airway pressure has been shown in numerous studies to be effective in improving sleep apnea and preventing a
These sweat patches can tell when you are tired, among other things
April 3, 2018 By Leave a Comment
A new organization called NextFlex has teamed up with GE Global Research and is looking to scale up hybrid, flexible electronics called sweat patches that measure fatigue in pilots, elite athletes and other potential medical users — all by analyzing their sweat. NextFlex is a young entity and an unusual one. Founded in 2015, the
