Deals and Financings

This week, Boston Scientific agreed to pay $1B+ for stroke prevention device firm Silk Road Medical; the FDA asked for feedback on patient safety for non-device medical software; and a former medtech CEO was sentenced to six years for her part in a phony device scheme.

A new report commissioned by trade group MedTech Europe finds that while EU medtech businesses benefit from some government support and a strong talent pool, they continue to lag in attracting investors and face mounting regulatory challenges.

UK-based Amber Therapeutics said it raised $100m in a series A financing round led by New Enterprise Associates. It plans to use the proceeds to fund the development of Amber-UI through pilot and pivotal studies aiming US regulatory approval.

This week, Medline announced recalls of tracheal tubes; Eko Health raised $41m in Series D funding; and the US FDA announced participation in collaborative communities focused on brain-computer interface devices and more.

An interactive look at medtech and diagnostics deals made during May

Axena says it will use the additional funding to expand sales activities within the US and abroad. The firm has kicked off a search for a new CEO following Eileen Maus’s departure.

This week, the ACLA filed a lawsuit against the US FDA; Philips recalled around 100,000 ventilators; women’s health companies Natural Cycles and Gameto padded their coffers; and Canary Medical and J&J’s Ethicon received FDA nods.

Click will fold Better Therapeutics’ FDA-cleared AspyreRx prescription digital therapeutic into R&D for its own CT-181, which promises to optimize obesity treatment in combination with drugs such as GLP-1s and provide "valuable real-world data insights for providers and payers." Better Therapeutics shuttered its operations in March, signaling continued challenges for digital medicine innovators.

Favorable UK biopharma investment trends have been reported by the BioIndustry Association, but can medtech and healthtech share in the positivity? A roundtable at the BioWales in London 2024 event framed the outlook for non-pharma players.

An interactive look at medtech and diagnostics deals made during April 2024. Data courtesy of Biomedtracker.

Creo Medical and Clinithink are among healthtech innovators that have benefited from funding and advisory support offered by the Development Bank of Wales. All three gave a take on the current funding environment at BioWales in London 2024.

Karius announced on 2 May that it has raised $100m in a series C round of financing co-led by Khosla Ventures and new investors 5AM Ventures and Glide Ventures. The proceeds will be used to expand the firm’s reach beyond the 400 US hospitals where its Karius Test for detecting over 1,000 pathogens is already being used.

This week, the US FDA's proposed final rule on lab-developed tests cleared another hurdle on the path to release; Zimmer Biomet announced that its ROSA surgical robot had been used in shoulder replacement surgery for the first time; and a virtual menopause clinic closed out a $60M fundraising round.

Firm operating in London, India and United Arab Emirates says its “Ultra Factory” will open in Indiana within the next six months with end-to-end production based on its operational facility in India.

Two Chairs, which uses algorithms to match the right therapists with patients, secured $72m in investment to expand its business.

J&J’s acquisition of IVL device maker Shockwave Medical for $13.1bn sets J&J’s medtech arm solidly in a leadership position in multiple cardiovascular markets.