Diagnostics & Healthcare News

Abbott Laboratories agreed to sell its eye-surgery equipment business to Johnson & Johnson for $4.325 billion as the health-care giants remake their lineups of medical devices, the companies said Friday. The all-cash deal, previously reported by The Wall Street Journal, gives J&J the No. 2 business in cataract surgeries, an $8 billion global market that…

Universities and drug companies that use human volunteers for research face tough new rules designed to make sure that valuable information from these volunteers is widely available, not only to the volunteers themselves but to scientists trying to advance medical science. The rules currently on the books are confusing and often ignored. Since 2007, scientists…

BILLERICA, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Insulet Corporation (PODD) (Insulet or the Company), the leader in tubeless insulin pump technology with its Omnipod® Insulin Management System (Omnipod System), today announced the first patient has completed the feasibility study of the Omnipod Horizon™ Automated Glucose Control System (Omnipod Horizon System). The full study will evaluate the use of a personal Model Predictive Control algorithm…

“Oh, we have a hematology analyzer but it stopped working,” the lab technician said as he pointed to a covered tabletop medical equipment in the corner used to measure blood count levels — an important but simple tool for a community where anemia and infections are prevalent. The busted hematology analyzer, which I encountered during…

Pediatricians gave a final thumbs-down Tuesday to the only needle-free flu vaccine on the market, saying they do not recommend the FluMist vaccine for kids this year. It’s a symbolic rejection: Vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already recommended against FluMist nasal spray vaccine for this season, saying it has…

NORWALK, Conn. and BOSTON, Aug. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Zillion Group, a leading technology solution for digital engagement, today announced the company has raised $28 million in its Series C round of fundraising. The round was led by TwinFocus Capital Partners, the premier boutique multifamily office for global ultra-high net worth families, entrepreneurs and professional investors.…

Alere Inc. sued Abbott Laboratories to compel the completion of their pending $5.8 billion takeover deal, claiming the medical-device maker failed to get U.S. antitrust clearance in an effort to scuttle the contentious transaction. Abbott “has breached the merger agreement between the parties by failing to promptly secure antitrust approvals and other regulatory requirements,” Alere…

A major study about the best way to treat early-stage breast cancer reveals that “precision medicine” doesn’t provide unambiguous answers about how to choose the best therapy. “Precision doesn’t mean certainty,” says David Hunter, a professor of cancer prevention at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. That point is illustrated in a large study…

The doctors staffing New York City’s public hospitals stand to lose out on tens of thousands of dollars in incentive payments because of new standards they say are too high.   As part of the doctors’ most recent contract with NYC Health & Hospitals, agreed to last summer, 5% of physicians’ payments from the municipal…

Some families gearing up for the start of school have noticed that one important item for kids with severe food allergies has gotten a lot more expensive. With some retailers now charging more than $700 for a set of EpiPens, allergists say they’ve heard from some concerned parents. The marker-sized injectors are filled with epinephrine…