AGA Medical sues Occlutech; Resonetics opens new NH facility;

> St. Jude Medical's AGA Medical unit is suing Occlutech for patent infringement. The suits allege that products distributed by Occlutech--its atrial septal defect and patent foramen ovale closure/occlusion devices--infringe key patents used for the St. Jude Medical Amplatzer occlusion device platform. St. Jude release

> Resonetics has relocated to a new facility in Nashua, NH. Because of the significant growth of its medical division, the new facility is 50 percent larger than the previous facility. Further expansion plans call for a doubling again by 2012; therefore, Resonetics has reserved surrounding space to accommodate this future growth. Resonetics release

> Teleflex says it's a pure-play medical device company now that it's reclassified its cargo systems business as a discontinued operation, marking the culmination of a years-long transformation. Item

> Merit Medical Systems has announced the pricing of its previously reported underwritten public offering of 4.8 million shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $16.75 per share. Merit Medical release

> Kinetic Concepts has announced the launch of a Transcontinental Wound Registry to be presented at the 2012 Congress of World Union of Wound Healing Societies. The registry is the first worldwide registry on wound healing and wound care technologies. It will aid in the wound care community's efforts to provide adequate treatment plans by identifying factors that optimize clinical and economic outcomes in wound healing and tissue repair. KCI release

> At least 10 studies have been released in medical tech circles in the past two years, and almost have sounded the alarm on how medical devices are regulated in the U.S. The research-driven criticism comes as the FDA considers changing how medical devices are cleared by the agency, a move that could result in more regulation of the industry. Article

And Finally... Johnson & Johnson's announcement that it would exit the stent business is, on its face, a classic case of winners and losers. But if you wanted to identify a single product that embodies both the strengths and flaws of the U.S.  healthcare system, you won't do much worse than the $2,000 drug-coated stent. News