Johnson & Johnson Revs up Its M&A Engine

Johnson & Johnson rocked the medtech world last week when it revealed its plans to acquire Abiomed. The proposed deal is valued at about $16.6 billion ($380 a share), which includes cash acquired. Abiomed shareholders will also receive a non-tradeable contingent value right to receive up to $35 a share in cash if certain commercial and clinical milestones are achieved. The size of the deal caught most medtech analysts offguard, however Abiomed is expected to fit well within J&J's business and culture.

Medtronic Wins Regulatory Nod in Canada for MiniMed 780G 

Medtronic kicked off Diabetes Awareness Month with news that its MiniMed 780G system for people living with type 1 diabetes has received a regulatory license from Health Canada. The company touts that the MiniMed 780G is the only insulin pump system in Canada that automatically adjusts and corrects sugars every five minutes — some user interaction is required, however. The regulatory milestone comes during a year of significant progress in diabetes tech.

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

Medtronic's Big Spin

Medtronic plans to spin its patient monitoring and respiratory interventions businesses into a new company. Combined, these businesses generated about $2.2 billion in the company's last fiscal year, representing about 7% of total Medtronic revenue. Both businesses are currently part of Medtronic's medical surgical portfolio. The separation is expected to be completed in the next 12 months to 18 months, which means they will continue to be part of Medtronic through at least the current fiscal year, and the announcement does not impact the company's guidance for fiscal year 2023.

Baxter CEO All But Confirms Divestiture Rumors

Baxter CEO Joe Almeida confirmed last week that the company is in the midst of evaluating its business portfolio, and he expects to make an announcement related to that process in January. There have been rumors circulating for about a month now that the Deerfield, IL-based company is considering shedding parts of its dialysis businesses. While declining to comment on the rumors directly, Almeida said the company wants to optimize the portfolio with a focus on connected care, and areas that will drive higher gross margin, and areas of higher top-line growth. That means software, and technologies designed to "connect the dots" for clinicians and institutions. He said the team is about three-quarters of the way through that process, which has been "very intense."

J&J Sees Progress on Blue-Light Contacts

Johnson & Johnson presented positive data on wearing its blue-violet light filtering contact lenses at the 2022 American Academy of Optometry annual meeting. Acuvue Oasys Max 1-Day contact lenses were designed for those living digitally intense lifestyles. These lenses include TearStable Technology to maximize tear-film stability and lock in moisture, and OptiBlue light filter, which J&J says has the highest-level blue-violet filter in the industry at 60%, to reduce light scatter for visual clarity in day and night.