Abbott Pays the Price for Alleged Alere Mistakes

A mail-order diabetic testing supplies company previously owned by Alere allegedly violated the False Claims Act. Now, Abbott will have to pay $160 million to resolve allegations that Arriva and Alere made, or caused, claims to Medicare that were false because kickbacks were paid to Medicare beneficiaries, patients were ineligible to receive meters, or patients were deceased. 

“This matter relates to alleged activities that took place prior to Abbott’s acquisition of Alere and was previously disclosed by Alere in financial filings," an Abbott spokesperson told MD+DI. "This business was discontinued shortly after the transaction closed.”

Medtech Companies Get Bonus NTAP Year

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is finalizing a one-year extension new technology add-on payments for 13 technologies for which the new technology add-on payment (NTAP) would otherwise be discontinued beginning fiscal year 2022. These 13 products include Boston Scientific's Eluvia drug-eluting stent, Cook Medical's Hemospray, and Stryker's SpineJack system.

Boston Sci Tries to Close Gaps in Clinical Guidelines for PE

A new study using Boston Scientific's EkoSonic endovascular system (EKOS) aims to address current gaps in clinical guidelines for the treatment of pulmonary embolism. The first-of-its-kind trial will compare the EKOS in combination with anticoagulation to anticoagulation alone for the treatment of acute, intermediate-high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE).

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

Investors Show Love to Exo, BioIntelliSense, and MedRhythms

The venture capital community has been rather kind to medtech players as of late, especially in fast-growing spaces with technology aimed at decentralizing care. Exo (pronounced echo) reported raising $220 million in a series C round to support commercialization of its handheld ultrasound device and point-of-care ultrasound workflow solution; BioIntelliSense, developer of a wearable sensor for monitoring patient vital signs, raised $45 million in an oversubscribed series B round; and MedRhythms raised $25 million in a series B financing to advance its digital therapeutics platform.

Another Acquisition for BD

The firm acquired Tepha, developer of a bioresorbable scaffold for soft tissue support and to repair, elevate and reinforce deficiencies where weakness or voids exist. This marks the company's sixth acquisition in fiscal year 2021.