YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES
Wednesday May 23, 2012
Who will be the next Medtronic? What will be Minnesota's next breakthrough industry? Wendy Lee and James Walsh will provide you the latest information and commentary on the people, companies, and trends driving innovation in Minnesota. From visionary entrepreneurs to game changing technologies, this blog offers a window into the future of Minnesota's economy.
NIH study finds sigmoidoscopy cuts colorectal cancer rates
Posted by: James Walsh Updated: May 21, 2012 - 3:21 PM
Flexible sigmoidoscopy, a screening test for colorectal cancer that is less invasive and has fewer side effects than colonoscopy, is effective in reducing the rates of new cases and deaths due to colorectal cancer, according to research sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.
In a study that spanned almost 20 years, researchers found that overall colorectal cancer deaths were cut 26 percent and the number of new cases was reduced by 21 percent as a result of screening with sigmoidoscopy. These results appeared online Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine, and were presented at Digestive Disease Week , a scientific conference.
A sigmoidoscopy involves examination of the lower colon using a thin, flexible tube-like instrument called a sigmoidoscope.
Sigmoidoscopy has fewer side effects, requires less preparation, and poses a lower risk of bowel perforation than colonoscopy, in which a similarly flexible, but longer, tube is used to view the entire colon.
Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Previous research has shown that colorectal cancer can be reduced with a number of screening methods, including blood testing.
For more information, go to: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/may2012/nci-21.htm
Medtronic's legal department named one of the best
Posted by: James Walsh Updated: May 16, 2012 - 10:59 AMALM’s Corporate Counsel on Wednesday announced that Medtronic’s legal department has been chosen as a winner of its 2012 Best Legal Departments competition. Medtronic was one of four winners.
Editor in Chief Anthony Paonita said of the winners: “They all have strong leaders who are passionate about what they do. They’ve assessed their company’s needs, prioritized, and created systems to make their department more efficient. And they’ve convinced their colleagues to care deeply and given them opportunities to take on additional responsibilities.”
The winning departments are profiled in depth in Corporate Counsel’s June issue and online at www.corpcounsel.com.
Regarding Medtronic, Corporate Counsel said: Though still facing 11 government probes, the biomedical device maker has seen a sharp turnaround since the arrival of general counsel D. Cameron Findlay in 2009 and deputy general counsel Joan Humes in 2010. Prior legal drift left it battered by 5,000 pending actions over product liability, patents, criminal probes and shareholder demands, including bet-the-company off-label marketing litigation. Findlay first reset the company’s physician relationships, then restructured what is now a 135-lawyer department around subject matter expertise. Hiring ex-assistant U.S. attorney Humes regained credibility with prosecutors, while she pushed a culture change to recognize shared patient-care interests with government. Outside law firms were cut from 600 to two dozen.
ALM is a media company that specializes in business news and information, focused primarily on the legal profession and commercial real estate.
Boston Scientific gets European approval for new stent
Posted by: James Walsh Updated: May 14, 2012 - 3:10 PMBoston Scientific Corp. on Monday announced CE Mark approval and the European market launch of its Innova Self-Expanding Bare-Metal Stent System, which is designed to treat peripheral vascular lesions in arteries above the knee.
Specifically, the stent is used in the superficial femoral artery and the proximal popliteal artery. Boston Scientific said it plans to sell the stent immediately in Europe and other CE Mark countries.
"Treating arteries above the knee is difficult because the challenging anatomy can lead to stent fractures and higher restenosis rates," said Mauro Gargiulo, M.D., physician at Sant'Orsola-Malpighi in Bologna, Italy, who performed the first procedure using the Innova Stent in Europe. "The unique design and stent architecture used in the Innova Stent platform provide excellent radial strength, flexibility and durability which are critical to sustaining patency in treated SFA and PPA lesions. The excellent deliverability and placement accuracy add another significant level of benefit, especially when accessing challenging and long lesions."
10-year follow up study shows defibrillators improve patient mortality
Posted by: James Walsh Updated: May 10, 2012 - 4:27 PMSt. Jude Medical on Thursday announced results of a 10-year follow-up study that showed patients with a basic, shock-only defibrillator lived longer than heart patients without such a device.
The results of the Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial were released during the Heart Rhythm Society's 33rd Annual Scientific Sessions in Boston. According to St. Jude, the study demonstrated that implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy significantly reduces mortality for at least 11 years in patients with moderate heart failure.
The study was led by Dr. Gust H. Bardy at the Seattle Institute for Cardiac Research and was sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institutes of Health, with a grant provided by St. Jude Medical. It bolsters the results of an original trial.
"While the original findings of the SCD-HeFT trial advanced the standard of care for patients with heart failure, the follow-up data are critical to define long-term ICD mortality benefits,” said Dr. Jeanne Poole, Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington, who presented the data at Heart Rhythm 2012. “The SCD-HeFT findings demonstrate that patients experience the lifesaving benefit of ICD therapy over a decade of clinical heart failure.”
Dr. Mark Carlson, chief medical officer and a senior vice president at St. Jude, said: “St. Jude Medical is proud to have supported the SCD-HeFT follow-up study, a trial that provides physicians with important information on the long-term efficacy of ICD therapy. We’ll continue to support trials providing physicians with clinically relevant information that can help them to improve patient outcomes.”
OrthoCor Medical secures $2.4 million in angel investment
Posted by: Wendy Lee under Minnesota entrepreneurs, Minnesota innovation, Minnesota technology Updated: May 10, 2012 - 10:26 AMOrthoCor Medical, the Minneapolis-maker of a knee brace that provides relief from arthritis and joint pains, said it has secured $2.4 million in angel investment.
The company said it will use the money to market its products.
“…We are excited to meet the huge demand for our Active Knee System by expanding our sales efforts,” CEO John Dinusson said in a statement.
OrthoCor sells a knee brace that provides heat and electromagnetic therapy to patients. The device is strapped around the knee and two small disposable “pods” snap into docking stations, delivering heat and activating the therapy.
The company has raised a total of $5 million in angel investment since it was founded in 2007.
The firm named Patrick Carroll as its national sales director. Carroll was eastern regional sales manager at medical device business Exos Corp.
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recent posts
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- Medtronic's legal department named one of the best
- Boston Scientific gets European approval for new stent
- 10-year follow up study shows defibrillators improve patient mortality
- OrthoCor Medical secures $2.4 million in angel investment
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