St. Jude Medical ($STJ) has launched its Axium Neurostimulator System for dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation to treat patients with chronic pain. The device was approved by the FDA in February. It's intended for use by patients who have uncontrolled pain using traditional spinal cord stimulation (SCS). A pivotal trial found Axium DRG stimulation provided superior pain relief to traditional tonic SCS. More
@FierceMedDev: ICYMI Friday: Jury clears Abbott in $1B+ false claims trial over off-label uses of bile duct stents. Article | Follow @FierceMedDev
@EmilyWFierce: ICYMI from FiercePharmaMarketing: FDA nitpicks Shionogi's head lice copay voucher over 'false and misleading' claims. Story | Follow @EmilyWFierce
> Non-invasive orthopedics company Össur has acquired Touch Bionics for $39 million to gain entrance into the upper limb prosthetic market. More
> Israeli OTC-traded Emerald Medical Applications ($MRLA) has won a 17-facility deal with Israeli emergency healthcare provider Terem for its artificial intelligence tech that offers early diagnosis of skin cancer. More
> Rice University has nabbed two 5-year grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH): more than $2.5 million for next-gen sequencing to find and profile disease-causing DNA sequence variants and $3 million to design and validate low-cost, point-of-care PCR tech for cancer mutations. More
Biotech News
@FierceBiotech: A message from our publisher @RebeccaEFriend: 'Welcome to the new and improved FierceBiotech.' More | Follow @FierceBiotech
@JohnCFierce: Celgene pays Juno $50M as it drives deeper into a $1B CAR-T collaboration. News | Follow @JohnCFierce
> Twist buys gene design software player to support e-commerce strategy. Article
> Gilead plots broader expansion at Foster City hometown. Report
Pharma News
@FiercePharma: FDA seeks removal of Phibro pig drug from market citing human cancer worries. FierceAnimalHealth story | Follow @FiercePharma
@CarlyHFierce: Ironwood exec's brainstorm gives Allergan a marketing edge with Linzess. More from FiercePharmaMarketing | Follow @CarlyHFierce
> Big year at Amgen delivers $2M pay hike for CEO Bradway, to $16M. Story
> Alkermes gets big revenue boost from dark side of opioid use. Report
> Valeant CEO to be held in contempt for ditching Senate deposition. Article
Animal Health News
> USDA proposes new rules for the health and welfare of organic livestock. More
> Startup Embark offers detailed DNA testing for dogs. Report
> Dog flu spreads to shelter cats in Wisconsin. Item
> FDA seeks removal of Phibro pig drug from market citing human cancer worries. Story
> Scientists nab virus that's to blame for mass casualties of farmed tilapia. Article
Biotech IT News
> Pfizer enlists IBM for IoT-enabled clinical trials by 2019. More
> Pfizer joins startup's Big Pharma backers in $18M round. Report
> Medidata swoops on medical imaging player Intelemage. Story
> Venter's HLI valued at $1.2B in Series B round. Article
Pharma Marketing News
> Vexing IBS-D spokescharacter 'Irritabelle' headlines Allergan's Viberzi ad push. More
> Back in control of Afrezza, MannKind refocuses on endocrinologists to give launch a jolt. Report
> Ironwood exec's brainstorm gives Allergan a marketing edge with Linzess. Story
> AbbVie sustains aggressive Humira push, GSK amps up on Breo to top March TV spenders. Article
> Facing stiff market competition, Biogen weighs sale of $500M hemophilia assets. Item