Pressed for time? Here's the medtech news you need most, in one minute or less.

Amanda Pedersen

March 27, 2020

1 Min Read
Medtech in a Minute: COVID-19 Impacts Business, Regulation, and More
Your time is valuable, so we've drilled down the three most important medtech stories from the past week. But feel free to click the headline to read beyond the blurb.Image by OpenClipart-Vectors on Pixabay

EC pushes to postpone new medical device regulations 

As the deadline for the new medical device regulations to go into force in the European Union rapidly approaches (end of May), the European Commission (EC) is looking to postpone the new regulations by one year. The delay would allow national authorities and industry to focus on urgent priorities related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, said a spokesman for the EC.

Elon Musk Talks Ventilators with Medtronic

Tweets from Elon Musk and Medtronic attracted a lot of positive and negative attention. Musk said he "had a long engineering discussion with Medtronic about state-of-the-art ventilators." Medtronic said it is grateful for the discussion with Musk and Tesla as the company works across industries to solve problems associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 triggers furloughs at one medtech company, strategic exploration at another

Conformis is furloughing one-third of its workforce (about 80 employees) citing a sharp decline in elective procedures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The custom orthopedics implant company also withdrew its previous 2020 product revenue growth target of 3% to 6%. Meanwhile, Obalon Therapeutics is exploring financial and strategic alternatives for the same reason. The weight-loss device maker said these alternatives could include equity or debt financing; a sale of the company; a business combination; or a merger or reverse merger with another party.

About the Author(s)

Amanda Pedersen

Amanda Pedersen is a veteran journalist and award-winning columnist with a passion for helping medical device professionals connect the dots between the medtech news of the day and the bigger picture. She has been covering the medtech industry since 2006.

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