Medtech in a Minute: Texas Halts Elective Surgery, a Sweet Deal, and More

Texas Hits the Breaks on Elective Surgery

Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order to pause elective surgery in major cities after the state reported more than 5,000 new cases for three consecutive days and broken COVID-19 hospitalization records for two weeks in a row. While this is clearly negative for the medical device industry, Needham & Co.'s Mike Matson says it is unlikely we will see another nationwide suspension of elective procedures. The analyst says we may, however, see "rolling" suspensions in states where COVID-19 cases are surging, such as California, Florida, and Oklahoma.

How Sweet It Is to See Medtech M&A Again

The med-tech deals are rolling in once again. This week, Tandem Diabetes Care said it will buy Sugarmate, developer of a popular mobile app for people with insulin-requiring diabetes, for an undisclosed sum. The industry also saw one of the biggest deals since COVID-19 first hit the United States with Invitae agreeing to acquire ArcherDx in a deal valued at $1.4 billion. The combined company could be a pivotal force in precision oncology.

Funding in COVID Times Is Tough, but Not Impossible

Medtech companies are beating the funding odds by raising money despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This week, Epipole, a Scottish retinal imaging specialist that is preparing its handheld video ophthalmoscope for U.S. market introduction, raised £1.5 million ($1.9 million) in new funding. And in a nearly unprecedented move, employees at Augmedics formed a limited liability company to boost the company's series B round to $15 million in order to commercialize its augmented reality surgical image guidance technology. Other medtech companies that have seen recent funding success include Cue Health, CereVasc, and Bigfoot Biomedical.