Medtech in a Minute: A Shocking M&A Rumor, and More

A Shocking M&A Rumor

Rumor has it Boston Scientific has been exploring a potential acquisition of Shockwave Medical. Boston Scientific executives had an opportunity to squash the rumor this week during its quarterly earnings call, but instead they declined to discuss the report at all, seemingly leaving the door open for the deal.

Quest Searches for MRD in Haystack

Quest Diagnostics might not have found a needle in a haystack, but the company has found a worthy acquisition target in Haystack Oncology. Quest has agreed to pay $300 million in cash at closing and up to an additional $150 million in milestone payments. Haystack is developing minimal residual disease (MRD) testing technology. MRD testing is a specific category of liquid biopsy that identifies circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the bloodstream of patients following surgery and treatment for cancer.

And in case you missed our last Medtech in a Minute report...

Medtronic Gets the Axe Out

Medtronic confirmed last week that it will be chopping off some of its global headcount, stopping short of citing how many employees will be impacted by the layoffs. The measure follows Medtronic's early retirement incentives announced last month.