Is the device tax the job killer it's made out to be?; Ventus rolls out sleep apnea device in Canada

 @FierceMedDev: Wright Medical plans to merge with BioMimetic in a $380M deal: orthopedics + regenerative medicine = the future. More | Follow @FierceMedDev

 @MarkHFierce: St. Jude gained a CE mark for its new transcatheter aortic heart valve/transfemoral delivery system. Watch out, Sapien? News | Follow @MarkHFierce

 @DamianFierce: Big week for CRO Chiromics, signing deals with GSK and Bristol-Myers. Story | Follow @DamianFierce

> Medical device companies have billed the impending 2.3% tax as a "job-killing raid," but will the charge really be that hard on revenues? Column

> Sparton ($SPA) has closed its $43.25 million acquisition of medical device manufacturer Onyx ($ONXX), a deal it says will add $50 million a year in revenue. More

> Ventus Medical has launched Provent, its sleep apnea-treating device, in Canada. Release

> Scientists at MIT have created a fiber-optic 3-D "light switch" that can deliver precise points of light to the brain, possibly finding use in treatments for Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. Item

> Next-generation robotic surgical devices are leaving even less of footprint than earlier models, The New York Times reports. Story (sub. req.)

> Vitacon, the Norwegian maker of an ultrasound bladder scanner ,is launching the product in the U.S. Story

> Oregon State electrical engineers concocted a new post stamp-sized medical monitoring device that could fit on a bandage and cost less than 25 cents. Release

Biotech News

 @FierceBiotech: From FierceBiotechIT.com: Cmed expanding in North Carolina as CRO-tech combos take off. Story | Follow @FierceBiotech

 @JohnCFierce: SR One, etc., provide $37.5M round for Applied Genetic Technologies. Working on gene therapies. News | Follow @JohnCFierce

 @RyanMFierce: Cmed expanding in North Carolina as CRO-tech combos take off. Report | Follow @RyanMFierce

> Troubled sequencing pioneer Helicos shelters in bankruptcy court. Story

> Road kill or takeover target? Amarin in limbo as it waits for key FDA decision. Report

> Booming Novo Nordisk shoots for top drugmaker status. Item

Pharma News

@FiercePharma: Pfizer CEO Ian Read ordered to testify in Chantix case. More | Follow @FiercePharma

> Novo Norkdisk, largest Nordic company, shoots for top drugmaker. Report

> Calpers, others, battle Pfizer separately on Bextra shareholder claims. News

> Illumina gets dose of its own medicine, spurned by Complete Gemomics. Item

Biotech IT News

> Merck backs Remedy Informatics with $6M investment. Report

> Roche engages patient groups in social media effort. Article

> Cmed expanding in North Carolina as CRO-tech combos take off. News

> Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Eli Lilly to rip red tape from clinical trials. Story

CRO News

> PPD gets high-tech for adaptive trials. Item

> Big Pharma supergroup plots clinical trial site database. Story

> Chiromics inks discovery deals with Bristol-Myers, GSK. Article

> Aptuit extends GSK partnership at Italian site. More

> WuXi ticks up income after strong Q3. Report