Johnson & Johnson plans to buy Abiomed for $380 per share – about $16.6bn in total – plus up to $35 per share in potential commercial and clinical milestone-contingent payments. Abiomed is the clear leader in percutaneous circulatory support technology, but would benefit from J&J's reach and resources while complementing J&J's Biosense Webster electrophysiology business.

The annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference includes presentations from major medtech companies describing their experience in 2021 and expectations for 2022 as they continue to cope with the impact of the Omicron surge. Here are some of the highlights from the presentations on the fourth day of the meeting.

Medtech Insight outlines major trends shaping the top 15 cardiovascular device companies included in the latest Medtech 100 rankings. They include a growing need to reach underserved patient populations, ongoing staffing and other challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and reimbursement obstacles.