St. Jude gets CE mark for a-fib device; Study: No safety difference between valves from Medtronic, Edwards;

 @FierceMedDev: Medical device VC cash plunged 13% in 2012. Report | Follow @FierceMedDev

 @DamianFierce: So, is $LIFE looking to sell itself? This PR is ominous. Release | Follow @DamianFierce

> St. Jude Medical ($STJ) won CE mark approval for its Amplatzer Amulet Left Atrial Appendage Occluder, designed to treat non-valvular atrial fibrillation. News

> A new study finds that Medtronic's ($MDT) CoreValve and Edwards Lifesciences' ($EW) Sapien have similar rates of complication and death. Item

> GE Healthcare ($GE) is touting new data showing that its training program is a success in teaching physicians how to read PET scans with its Alzheimer's-related flutemetamol imaging agent. More

> According to a new follow-up study, gastric banding is a safe and effective long-term solution for obese patients. Item

> MIT and Children's Medical Center are suing Shire ($SHPGY), saying the company violated three of their patents with its DermaGraft treatment. Article

> InVitae, led by former Genomic Health ($GHDX) CEO Randy Scott, is gearing up to start development of diagnostic assays that combine many existing tests into one. Story

> Diagnostic smartphone apps that claim to able to distinguish between benign lesions and melanoma produce unreliable, highly variable results, according to a study. Report

Biotech News

 @FierceBiotech: NuPathe jumps on FDA's OK for migraine drug. News | Follow @FierceBiotech

@JohnCFierce: VC ends '12 on a high note, outlook ranges from tough to terrific. More | Follow @JohnCFierce

@RyanMFierce: Does anyone know how much total funding (VC, corp., foundation) went into biotech? Still, $800M off in 2012 from '11 on the VC front. Yikes. | Follow @RyanMFierce

> Beer molecule discovery bolsters Seattle biotech upstart. Report

> Pfizer, Novartis win EU nods for new leukemia, eye drugs. Article

> Santhera Pharma slammed with EU denial of orphan drug. Story

Pharma News

@FiercePharma: Not as good for branded pharma, CHMP also OK'd generic versions of Forest's Namenda + Boehringer's Micardis. More | Follow @FiercePharma

 @AlisonBFierce: Roche said U.S. regulators will allow it to begin selling the company's reserve stock of adult Tamiflu capsules. News | Follow @AlisonBFierce

@EricPFierce: Costco jumps into pharmacy benefits, bringing a new player to the table for drug companies to think about. Report | Follow @EricPFierce

> Pfizer's Bosulif set for greater sales with EMA approval. Article

> Pfizer sets share price for animal health spinoff. Report

> FTC says pay-to-delay getting worse; GpHA says nonsense. News