Medtech in a Minute: Baxter Bows out of Biopharma, and More

Baxter Bows out of Biopharma

Baxter has agreed to sell its biopharma solutions business to Advent International and Warburg Pincus for $4.25 billion. Net proceeds, which are expected to be about $3.4 billion, will be redeployed for debt repayment, the company said. Last fall, CEO José "Joe" Almeida expressed a desire to optimize the portfolio to focus on connected care, and technologies designed to "connect the dots" for clinicians and institutions.

Siemens Stops Selling Cardiology Robot

Citing disappointing adoption of the CorPath GRX System, Siemens Healthineers is throwing in the towel on the robotic-assisted cardiovascular system. The robot was part of Siemens' $1.1 billion acquisiition of Corindus Vascular Robotics in 2019. The company said it will shift its focus to developing a robotic solution for neurovascular interventions. The news comes as the company's diagnostic revenue fell 39% on a comparable basis due to waning demand for the company's rapid COVID-19 antigen test.

Bioventus Sheds Wound Business

Bioventus is selling its wound business to LifeNet Health for about $85 million. The deal includes the skin substitutes TheraSkin and TheraGenesis. Bioventus has also agreed to give LifeNet exclusive rights to sell the SonicOne ultrasonic wound debridement products in the United States and Canada.

Thermo Fisher Shutters Three Facilities

As demand for COVID-19 testing drops, Thermo Fisher is closing three facilities, which will eliminate 230 jobs. All three facilities are located in the San Diego, CA area.

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

Medtronic Sets a New Pace

With 40% more battery life, most patients who receive one of Medtronic's next-generation leadless pacemakers are not likely to ever need a replacement device. The Micra AV2 and Micra VR2 are also the world's smallest pacemakers (comparable in size to a multivitamin), the company said.

ResMed to Philips: Game On

The big unknown in the sleep apnea device market continues to be when Philips will re-enter the market. An April FDA notice suggests that Philips' product recall impacting the market for CPAP and BiPAP ventilators and other respiratory devices is far from over. One thing that is clear, however, is that ResMed is more than capable of meeting demand now, and if CEO Mick Farrell is at all afraid of Philips' potential return to the market, he's not showing it. In fact, he seems to be leaning into it.

ZimVie Eliminates 5% of Workforce

ZimVie, the dental and spine company that spun out of Zimmer Biomet last year, is cutting its global workforce by 5% (roughly 135 employees), in addition to reductions in discretionary spending. The company said the restructuring actions are expected to generate between $17 million and $20 million in annualized net savings by 2024. The restructuring actions align with the plan laid out at the time of the spin, so, it was not entirely unexpected.