Boston Sci completes sale of neurovascular biz; Smith & Nephew gets warning letter;

> Natick medical devicemaker Boston Scientific has completed the previously disclosed $1.5 billion sale of its neurovascular business to Stryker based in Kalamazoo, Mich. Boston Scientific release | News

> Smith & Nephew has received an FDA warning letter over quality control concerns arising from a July inspection of the company's Tuttlingen, Germany facility. The devicemaker had sent a response to the agency in August concerning the observations seen at the facility, which makes hip implants, but the FDA deemed it inadequate. Item

> Intel and GE Healthcare have launched a joint venture company focused on the emerging market for medical home monitoring systems. The partnership will also focus on residential support technologies based on sensors that send alerts in case of a fall and other applications involving movement detection. Article

> Michigan's Oakland County Medical Main Street had a strong 2010, with six life science companies locating or expanding their operations there. The program is an alliance of hospitals, universities, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and medical professionals founded by Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson in 2008. Story

> Seven hospitals will pay more than $6.3 million to settle allegations that they overcharged Medicare between 2000 and 2008 when performing kyphoplasty, a minimally-invasive procedure used to treat certain spinal fractures that often are due to osteoporosis. It comes after the May 2008 settlement with Medtronic Spine, which paid $75 million to resolve allegations that it defrauded Medicare by counseling hospital providers to perform kyphoplasty as an in-patient rather than an out-patient procedure. DoJ release

> The medical device industry's chief advocacy group spent over $358,000 lobbying the federal government in the third quarter of 2010, according to a recent disclosure form. Story

> PositiveID Corporation has entered an agreement with Siemens AG related to its Wireless Bodyplatform. The license agreement allows PositiveID to expand its personalized medicine and smart healthcare applications for next generation patient monitoring and includes granting PositiveID rights to utilize key intellectual property, and, in particular, Siemens' Patent No. 7,650,888, titled "Method and System for Identification of a Medical Implant" using RFID. PositiveID release

> A study of nearly 112,000 implantable-defibrillator patients indicated more than one in five people didn't meet medical guidelines for getting the expensive devices, and in some cases may not have needed one. Report

> Bill Hawkins, the outgoing CEO of Medtronic, will remain at the company for one year after stepping down in April. He will receive on top of his current annual salary of $1.25 million and expected $3.8 million in separation pay, according to a regulatory filing. Item

> People with breathing problems that disrupt their sleep were less tired after three weeks of treatment with a breathing device compared to those treated with a placebo, U.S. researchers said on Saturday. News

> Members of a cardiology trade group say they're worried that people will delay getting medical attention because they're afraid of receiving unnecessary cardiac stents, now that allegations against a Maryland physician have received national attention. Article

And Finally... Often, patients have to wait years to reap the benefits of medical breakthroughs--but not always. Pat Hagan identifies the advances that could make a real difference to your life in 2011, including a tiny vibrating device like a pneumatic drill that breaks up hard deposits in leg arteries. Report