The global medtech industry has a new leader, after a bulked-up Medtronic knocked Johnson & Johnson off its throne. But astute M&A deals, as well as divestments and knock-on impact from poor sales and negative currency effects, have also led to other movements in the medtech company rankings. Medtech Insight's 2016 edition of its annual league tables – MTI 100 and the Top 10 sector leaders – show who's climbed up and who's slipped down.

Starts & Stops is a regular feature highlighting Medtech Insight editors' picks of noteworthy medtech clinical trial initiations, completions and suspensions over the past month. This edition takes a closer look at Respicardia, which has cut short the post-approval study of its implantable sleep apnea device study.

The earnings season is now in full swing with more large-cap medtech stocks releasing their quarterly results. This week we spotlight cardiology market leaders Boston Scientific and Edwards Lifesciences, big ortho hitter Stryker, specialty diagnostics provider Thermo Fisher, and diversified players such as Philips, Bard and Teleflex. But which among them are this season's earnings winners and losers?