News

Digital marketers from some of the worlds largest medical device companies gathered in Berlin on December 12th and 13th for the Exlpharma Digital marketing for medical devices Europe conference.

Companies represented included Covidien, Medtronic, Zimmer, BBraun, Molynlcke, 3M, Medrad, Nipro, Bausch and Lomb and Smiths Medical. The room was alive with twitter activity, connecting on Linkedin, and updates on Facebook and other media.

The Waterbeach and Landbeach Action for Youth (WAY) Group is committed to bringing 11-19 year olds together three times a week to give them a variety of activities to do after school.

Two Remtec consultants, Hannah Szurek and Angelica Chhiba visited them in December to find our more...

One Nucleus announced today that it has signed an agreement with SEHTA (South East Health Technologies Alliance) that will give SEHTA members access to One Nucleus Preferred Suppliers through the One Nucleus Purchasing Consortium Scheme. This agreement takes effect from 1 December 2011.

 The One Nucleus Purchasing Consortium has an annual spend of over £6 million with its eight Preferred Suppliers and over 90 One Nucleus Gold Members. The consortium utilises the buying volume of member companies to negotiate and promote Preferred Supply Agreements.

The world’s largest medical trade fair, the MEDICA, covers the entire spectrum of exhibits for both ambulant and in-patient treatment.

Over 4,300 exhibitors – from small innovative companies to global players – will be presenting services and established products on almost 120,000 m2 in 17 exhibition halls.

Representatives of Remtec will be available all day on Thursday 17th to meet with you. To arrange a meeting please contact our office direct on 01223 550860.

Can you spare 10 minutes to complete our questionnaire?

Nigel Job, CEO of Remtec is today attending the ABHI Government Affairs seminar in West London.

This event will provide information about the political process and how events in Westminster can affect their business.

This year's Eucomed MedTech Forum was centred around "Driving Innovation in European Healthcare – healthy & active people - efficient systems - economic growth". This year Eucomed was attended for the first time by John Morley, Director of Remtec Search & Selection Ltd.

Commenting on the event John said “this is a great event for us to attend as the issues discussed affect our key clients in the MedTech sector across Europe”.

Remtec, the Cambridge based leading European Lifescience and Medical Technology recruitment business has signed a supplier agreement with One Nucleus, one of the largest Lifescience membership organisations in Europe.

Recent news coverage has suggested that one of the key challenges to the growth of the Cambridge Biocluster is the attraction of the right people to work in the many science and technology companies in the area. This new agreement will allow One Nucleus members to access Remtec’s expertise in attracting top talent, to further their growth and development plans.

Then you need to understand what Skills are required and the culture within.

There are hundreds of millions of pounds available to support UK start ups. In March 2011 the Government announced a £100m fund for science, £44m of which is for the Babraham Research Park in Cambridge, Imperial Innovations have a £140m fund to support university spin outs, corporate Medtech and Pharma Co’s have their own active in house investment funds including Covidien Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, Zimmer, SR One at GSK. New technology parks are being opened, the amount of VC investment in healthcare is increasing and Venture Valuation www.venturevaluation.com reports $345m globally of finance deals in healthcare in August 2011.

Remtec will be represented by Liam Butler at the forthcoming Afpp Congress & Exhibition. http://www.afpp2011.org.uk/afpp2011

Remtec will be represented by Will Curtis at the forthcoming IBMS Biomedical Conference - http://www.ibmscongress.com/

Remtec the, Cambridge based specialist European Medical technology and Lifescience recruitment company, are delighted to announce the appointment of Stuart Logan as their new Business manager.

Stuart will manage the selection side of the business including the successful new team that graduated from the Remtec Academy Training Programme in August 2011. Stuart joins Remtec with over 10 years recruitment management experience across a range of sectors.

On a wet and windy day in August CEO Nigel Job and Lorna Rutter, Operations Director of Remtec went to meet Sally Southwick, Chairman of the BAS Breakwell Charitable Trust.

Following further fund raising efforts the Remtec Grassroots Community Fund were able to make a contribution to BAS to support their charitable group.

The new Remtec team has graduated from their training academy and are already bringing new clients and business to Remtec.

Following a successful year, when sales grew 40% to the end of April 2011, sales in the first quarter of this year ending July 2011 have continued this trend and are 18% ahead of the same period last year.

This was a question posed to me recently by a senior executive from a top US healthcare company when I recommended someone who was “between jobs”. His question, of course, was really a statement of his opinion rather than a question, but my answer was “actually they do, sometimes!”

In the current turbulent international job market, companies that refuse to interview out-of- work candidates may be missing out on excellent people who may have very legitimate reasons for losing their position.

On 15th May 2011 a team from Remtec took part in the Sawston Fun Run to raise money for the Remtec Grassroots Community Fund.

The team this year consisted of 8 runners/walkers of all running abilities who spent the weeks leading up to the event training for the run.

Remtec the Cambridge UK based European and Lifescience recruitment company has strengthened its board with 2 new appointments.

John Morley has been promoted to Business Development Director and Lorna Rutter to Operations Director/Company Secretary.

Following a successful year, when sales grew 40% to the end of April 2011, Remtec have appointed 5 new members of staff to their second training academy to drive the business onto further growth.

This second academy follows the successful first academy that started in September 2010 and resulted in a new team of three being formed.

Do good leaders create happiness? The corollary would be that bad leaders create unhappiness, and this must definitely be a truth. Should organisations and businesses, as well as governments be interested in happiness and “General Well Being” (GWB)?

This week saw the creation of a new organisation called Action for Happiness (http://www.actionforhappiness.org/)  which set me thinking about the philosophy of happiness and GWB and its effect in the work force. I guess the unreliable part about their website is that an organisation such as theirs is more likely to attract absurd optimists such as myself! Although one can imagine that pessimists might go and look at it just to state what a load of garbage it all is!

Then you need to understand Upstream, Downstream, Strategy and Tactics.

What do these themes essentially mean in the world of marketing medical technologies? If your going to an interview for a marketing job then you need to be able to converse with authority about these aspects of marketing and ensure you are aware of the differences. In the recruiting work we do at Remtec we see a lot of confusion at times about these terms, not only from candidates but clients also. Clients often wish to hire a marketing candidate with more ‘Strategic Experience’ but when you probe further and ask what activities they require the person to carry out, their answer often sits under tactics not strategy.

In May 2010 the new coalition government came into power and in July they issued their White Paper – Equity and Excellence:  Liberating the NHS. As we move away from 150 or so PCTs in England to around 200 GP consortia what new roles are being created in the medical device industry to allow it to get closer to what the NHS is doing?

Over the past few years we have seen the emergence of a number of roles and functions within Medical Device Companies that were traditionally the preserve of Pharmaceutical companies. These include, Re-imbursement, Public Policy Research, Health Economists, Ethics and Compliance and Outcomes Research. Going back 20 years ago when I joined Becton Dickinson and during my 12 years there and at Smiths Medical these functions either did not exist or they sat within marketing or regulatory. We are now seeing the establishment of whole new departments dedicated to these functions within large Medtech companies, Let’s explore some of the reasons for this.

The Cottenham Village College Music Therapy Project was founded by Philippa Derrington a registered music therapist to help students with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties.

John Morley, Business Manager and Lorna Rutter, Office Manager from Remtec along with Jane Darlington of the Cambridge Community Foundation met with Philippa to find out more about the project and how Remtec might be able to help.

Remtec Director Ian Sandison, describes how he endured 8 hours in the wind and rain for a British Heart Foundation  www.justgiving.com/iansandison

70 miles to go, my friend Ted shouted to me, he needed to shout, the noise of the wind and rain was loud, 70 miles I thought !! Actually what I really thought was how I am going to get to the end of this.

Remtec completes another senior retained search assignment in less than eight weeks

Remtec Search and Selection, the specialist medical device and lifescience executive search company, is pleased to announce that it recently completed another retained search assignment for a board level position in under eight weeks.

There has been plenty written on the subject of how to raise finance to fund a new business venture but what do you do once you have the money in the bank?  How do you find the people you need to grow your company?

This is especially critical in the Biotechnology and Healthcare sector where finding the right person with the specific skills you need can make or break a company in its infancy stage.

I spoke to two CEO’s who have recently been through fund raising and hiring to see how they go about recruiting the right people.

What skills will you need to sell or market healthcare technologies in the next decade? Ian Sandison of Remtec Search and Selection takes a look at what the future holds for medical device sales.

With scientists in Geneva seeking to recreate the cosmos as it was following the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago, let’s take ourselves on a comparatively short journey into the future and explore how the medical device market may look in 10 years’ time: how patients and products will have changed, and how the role and approach of the salesperson will also have changed. I have asked a number of industry leaders from a cross-section of medical device companies – large and small, UK and international – for their views.

Have you ever dreamt of an HR manager handing you a P45, and woken up afraid to look behind you in case you saw your career? Ian Sandison of Remtec explains why redundancy is not always to be feared.

A meeting is suddenly cancelled. You are called to head office at short notice. “Oh by the way, bring your laptop,” you are told. Out of the blue you are in a solicitor’s office, having a compromise agreement reviewed and thinking of your next career move. It is formally called redundancy. Being released, let go, downsized and right-sized are a few of the other printable terms.

Chronic Hemodialysis Catheter Combines Ease of Insertion with Sustained High Flow

Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE: TFX), a leading global provider of medical devices for critical care and surgery, has expanded its interventional access portfolio with the Arrow NextStep Antegrade catheter, now available for sale in the United States.

Helping veterinary practices find efficiencies for improved patient care, increased client value and better profitability

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. announces the launch of IDEXX Real-Time Care™ work-flow consultations for veterinary clinics that wish to provide better patient care and an enhanced customer experience through a more efficient work flow. Trained consultants provide feedback and suggest processes to help streamline the clinic work flow in ways that positively affect all areas, from patient care to client value and profitability. Practices across the country that participated in the pilot program have already seen measurable improvement.

BioCity Scotland Ltd, a joint venture between BioCity Nottingham and Roslin BioCentre, has announced the acquisition of the former-MSD research facility at Newhouse, Lanarkshire.

The deal will enable the development of a dedicated base in central Scotland for growing bioscience, pharmaceutical, med tech and healthcare companies.

Biotronik has announced the first implantations of its new Lumax 740 implantable cardiac defibrillators — the world’s first and only ICDs eligible for use with MRI scanners.

ProMRI, an MR Conditional feature, combined with the product’s extended device longevity and BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring, brings the Lumax 740 series to patients with tachyarrhythmias. Furthermore, a new intracardiac impedance (ICI) assessment technology integrated into the Lumax HF-T device will be evaluated in clinical studies: this research feature aims to enhance therapy for heart failure (HF) patients in the future.

Eight-year trial examines the safety and efficacy of PFO closure for stroke

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), a global medical device company, today announced that it has met a stopping rule in its RESPECT clinical trial – triggered by reaching the protocol-required number of primary events in the trial, defined as stroke and all-cause mortality – and is closing patient enrollment.

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring, is scheduled to present at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, California on Monday, January 9, 2012.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) and Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTA) today announced that they have entered into a global collaboration to develop and commercialize follow-on biologic products, also known as biosimilars.

Biosimilars replicate existing, branded biologics used in the treatment of a variety of diseases including cancer, autoimmune disorders and other chronic conditions.  With this collaboration, Baxter will leverage its leading clinical development and biologic manufacturing expertise, global leadership in sterile injectables and global commercial capabilities, while Momenta will provide its expertise in high-resolution analytics, characterization, and product and process development.

New website is dedicated to updating the physician community on Riata silicone lead information.

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), a global medical device company, today announced that it has launched a Riata Lead Communication website at RiataCommunication.com. The new website is dedicated to providing physicians a compilation of important communications and updated information regarding the recent Riata® and Riata® ST Silicone Defibrillation Leads Class I recall.

New Influenza Test Receives FDA CLIA Waiver Offers Users Strong Performance, Coupled with Easy-to-Read Results

BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, announced today that it received 510(k) clearance and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waiver from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the BD Veritor™ System for rapid detection of Flu A+B.  This is the first rapid influenza test system that incorporates a digital read out of results to receive CLIA waiver.

Camera phones may be the future for assistance in medical diagnosis, especially in remote areas, according to a new study published in the online journal PLoS ONE.

Company remains on track for limited European launch in 2012

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), a global medical device company, today announced the first implant of its Portico™ transcatheter aortic valve implant (TAVI) in a European clinical trial to support CE Mark approval. The trial will study the safety and effectiveness of the Portico heart valve for patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (narrowing of the aortic heart valve), who are at high risk for conventional open-heart valve replacement therapy.

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announces the U.S. launch of its Charger™ PTA Balloon Catheter, a 0.035" percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) balloon catheter designed for a wide range of peripheral angioplasty procedures. 

The Charger PTA Balloon Catheter is Boston Scientific's third new peripheral balloon catheter introduced in 2011 and strengthens the Company's position as a global leader in peripheral angioplasty balloons.

U.S. THV Launch Fuels Projected 18 to 22 Percent Underlying Sales Growth; Two New Transcatheter Heart Valve Platforms Debuted; Reaffirms Guidance for 2011

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring, today will provide investors with information on the initiatives expected to result in strong double-digit sales and earnings growth in 2012. During its annual investor conference in New York City, Edwards' management will also discuss the company's strategy for long-term growth, technology pipeline, U.S. transcatheter valve launch and financial goals for 2012.

Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE: TFX), a leading global provider of medical technology products, announced today that it has completed the previously announced sale of its cargo systems and container aerospace businesses to a subsidiary of AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR) for $280 million.

Point of care (POC) testing at St James Hospital, Dublin is reaping the benefits of using a total POC solution from Roche.

110 fully connected Accu-Chek® Inform II glucose meters and 5 cobas b 221 blood gas analysers are managed centrally from the Biochemistry Department using the Roche cobas® IT 1000 data management software. This has allowed significant time savings, more efficient workload management, and has helped the hospital to meet accreditation requirements for POC testing.

Medical device developer and manufacturer, Ranier Technology, has recently been granted a patent in Japan for its graduated modulus medical device technology.

The Japanese patent applies to medical devices utilising Ranier’s polyurethane graduated modulus design for load bearing implants, where shock absorption and flexibility is combined with long term durability.

CryoLife, Inc. (NYSE: CRY), a leading tissue processing and medical device company focused on cardiac and vascular surgery, announced today that it will participate in the upcoming 6th Annual Canaccord Genuity Cardiovascular, Aesthetics & Metabolic Disorders Conference on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco.

D. Ashley Lee, executive vice president, chief operating office, and chief financial officer of CryoLife, Inc., is scheduled to present at 1:40 p.m. PT.

New, Fully Automated BD MAX™ MRSA Assay Rapidly Identifies Patients Colonized with Deadly Superbug

BD Diagnostics, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), today announced that it obtained CE Marking for the BD MAX™ MRSA Assay to rapidly and accurately identify methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in patients. Rapid and accurate information enables infection control measures to be implemented faster which can positively impact patient management.

A new point-of-care ultrasound system could help to guide clinicians during acute care procedures such as regional anaesthesia, pain medication delivery and examination of critically ill patients.

The Sparq system (pictured) from Philips Healthcare, launched at this year’s MEDICA congress, is a mobile device designed to provide immediate, user-friendly ultrasound imaging in the operating room or at the patient bedside.

The British Standards Institution (BSI) is strengthening its presence in the German medical devices market by rebranding EUROCAT, the German medical devices Notified Body and Test House owned by the BSI Group, as BSI Healthcare Germany.

The rebranding of EUROCAT is expected to attract new business by offering a global market access capability to companies in the German, Austrian and Swiss medical devices markets.

CryoLife, Inc. (NYSE: CRY), a leading tissue processing and medical device company focused on cardiac and vascular surgery, announced today that its Board of Directors authorized the Company's purchase of $15 million of its common stock through December 31, 2012.

The $15 million in new purchases includes approximately $7.7 million remaining from a $15 million stock repurchase program that the Board of Directors authorized in May 2010 and that was set to expire in mid-2012. Under this program, the purchase of shares can be made from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions on such terms as management deems appropriate, and will be dependant upon various factors, including price, regulatory requirements and other market conditions. The Company may enter into agreements from time to time that provide for common stock repurchases during Company announced "blackout periods" of such securities in compliance with Rule 10b5-1 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

New BD AutoShield™ Duo provides protection during and after injection

BD AutoShield™ Duo is a next generation, 5mm safety-engineered pen needle designed to protect healthcare workers from needlestick injuries and blood exposure. It is now available in the US from BD Medical, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company. 
 

Cook Medical's valuable place among the business community in Limerick has been recognised by Limerick Chamber at the inaugural Limerick Region Business Awards with Cook Ireland winning Company of the Year and Best Foreign Direct Investment Company at the award ceremony on Friday, October 21.

Presented by Maria Hinfelaar, President of the Limerick Institute of Technology, the Company of the Year Award recognised 16 years of continuous manufacturing growth at Cook Medical, a strong record and commitment to research and development, and the establishment of a European Shared Services Centre that has ensured the Limerick plant has become an integral part of Cook's global operations.

Aesthetic products company Syneron Medical (NASDAQ:ELOS) has commenced the global launch of its new facial rejuvenation device. The device dubbed “eTwo,” which integrates advanced technologies for facial treatments, was recently featured in the annual congress of European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (“EADV 2011”) in Lisbon, Portugal.

The eTwo is approved in the U.S. and Europe for dermatological procedures requiring ablation, resurfacing and wrinkle treatment. The device combines Syneron’s “Sublime” controlled heating and “Sublative” fractional skin treatment technologies.

Claim a €795 discount simply by quoting REMTEC when booking

 
Learn how to create and execute strategies that engage all of your stakeholders.

Sphere Medical flotation marks the start of an exciting period for the medical devices group.

The countdown began yesterday with the official announcement of its intention to raise around £15 million as part of next month's float.

Magstim are proud to announce next year's 'Summer School'

The Magstim Neuroscience Conference & Workshop 2012, which will be held in the Examination Schools in Oxford in the UK on 12th & 13th May 2012.
 

Smith & Nephew plc (LSE: SN, NYSE: SNN), the global medical technology business, today announced the appointment of Stéphane Thiroloix to the position of President, Europe Advanced Surgical Devices Division (ASD).

He will be based in Baar, Switzerland and will report to Mike Frazzette, President, ASD, and will serve as a member of the Division’s Executive Team.

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced that its Board of Directors unanimously voted to elect Michael O. Leavitt, founder and chairman of Leavitt Partners, to the Board as an independent director.

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), a global medical device company, today announced the first use of the company's renal denervation catheter and generator system, as part of a feasibility study of the new technology.

The technology was developed as a treatment for resistant hypertension (high blood pressure that is not well controlled by drug therapy). Prof. Stephen Worthley, Helpman Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Adelaide, performed the first procedure at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia.

Cook Medical announced today that its Evolution® Duodenal Controlled-Release Stent was recently granted 510(k) clearance by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

This new stent expands palliative care options for patients experiencing issues associated with malignant gastric outlet obstruction (GOO), a late stage complication of a variety of GI related cancers with pancreatic cancer being the most common cause.¹

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) welcomes yesterday's introduction of the Medical Device Regulatory Improvement Act, sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and cosponsored by Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Michael Bennet (D-CO).

The legislation is intended to streamline the medical device review and approval process, reduce regulatory delays and help new medical technologies safely and more expeditiously reach patients.

Integrity® Coronary Stent Redefines Deliverability with Continuous Sinusoid Technology; Endurant® AAA Stent Graft Expands Applicability of Endovascular Aortic Repair

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced plans to introduce two of its next-generation cardiovascular devices in Japan, the world’s second largest market for advanced medical technology: the Integrity® Coronary Stent System for the treatment of narrowed heart arteries due to atherosclerosis and the Endurant® AAA Stent Graft System for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Aircraft Medical ("Aircraft"), the UK medical devices company, today announces that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Covidien (NYSE: COV), a leading global provider of healthcare products with 2010 revenue of $10.4 billion, and 41,000 employees worldwide.

Under the terms of the agreement, Covidien will market and distribute Aircraft's proprietary McGRATH® MAC video laryngoscope in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand.*

New features allow for easier physician response and follow-up

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), a global medical device company, today announced the launch of its Merlin.net(TM) Patient Care Network (PCN) version 5.0. This update features enhancements to the Internet-based repository of patient and implantable device data that provide physicians easier access to important alerts and improve efficiency of data transmission to electronic health records (EHR).

Accellent Inc. (“Accellent” or “the Company”), a leading provider of outsourced precision manufacturing and engineering services to the medical device industry, announced today that James (Jim) McGorry will join Accellent as its Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, effective August 29, 2011.

“I am very excited to have Jim join our team,” said Don Spence, President and Chief Executive Officer of Accellent. “Jim brings tremendous operational and commercial
experience to our global sales and marketing organization. With more than 25 years of experience in medical devices and pharmaceutical based businesses, Jim will add
significant depth to our senior management team.”