Conor Hale

Washington, D.C.

Senior Editor at Fierce Biotech

Writing and reporting on medical developments for @FierceMedTech and @FierceBiotech

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Articles

Introducing Fierce Medtech's Fierce 15

5 days ago | fiercebiotech.com | Conor Hale

Helping colorectal surgery patients avoid ostomyCEO: Kenton Fong Founded: 2016 Based: San Francisco The scoop: One of the hardest decisions for about 130,000 patients facing colorectal surgery each year is not just whether to undergo the procedure, but how to live with the procedure that comes with it.
Siemens Healthineers fits CT scanner into UCLA ambulance for mobile stroke care

1 week ago | fiercebiotech.com | Conor Hale

Siemens Healthineers has deployed its first mobile stroke unit in the U.S., with an ambulance equipped with its own CT scanner. Run by UCLA Health of Southern California, the specialized bus can respond to 911 calls alongside or instead of a standard ambulance, and perform a quick head scan on location to identify a blocked blood vessel or a dangerous brain bleed.
Salvia BioElectronics nets $60M to develop minimally invasive migraine implant

1 week ago | fiercebiotech.com | Conor Hale

A Dutch neuromodulation developer has raised $60 million to complete the development of its minimally invasive implant for people suffering from chronic migraines. Salvia BioElectronics’ device is currently being tested in a blinded, sham-controlled study, with two paper-thin implants placed under the skin at the front and back of the head that deliver electrical impulses to the nervous system, and activated on-demand by the user with an external wearable.
Boston Scientific’s TAVR hopes dashed again, as it pulls Acurate heart valves from global market

1 week ago | fiercebiotech.com | Conor Hale

Boston Scientific is pulling its latest transcatheter aortic heart valve platform from the worldwide market and said it will no longer pursue an approval in the U.S., following recent stumbles in a clinical study.
Abbott snags US approval for Tendyne mitral valve replacement implant

1 week ago | fiercebiotech.com | Conor Hale

Abbott’s MitraClip implant just got a new sibling. The FDA has approved the company’s Tendyne system, as a minimally invasive heart replacement for patients with mitral valve disease that would otherwise make them ineligible for the top-selling device. That includes patients whose mitral valves have severe annular calcification, or a buildup of hardened deposits around the valve’s ring-like base, causing backward-flowing leaks in the valve or a narrowing that hampers blood flow.
Roche taps Broad Institute to test SBX sequencing in the clinic

2 weeks ago | fiercebiotech.com | Conor Hale

Roche raised the curtain on its novel approach to DNA sequencing earlier this year, and now it's working with the Broad Institute to explore its use cases, ahead of a full public launch slated for next year. The company has tapped Broad Clinical Labs, a subsidiary of the MIT and Harvard research center, to apply its sequencing-by-expansion technology in the whole genome analysis of critically ill newborns as well as their parents, to help diagnose genetic disorders and rare inherited diseases.
With Illumina sequencers under an import ban, PacBio expands its footprint in China

2 weeks ago | fiercebiotech.com | Conor Hale

With Illumina currently banned from shipping its DNA sequencers into China—in retaliation for the Trump administration’s on-again, off-again tariffs against the country—rival manufacturer PacBio aims to step into the gap. PacBio said it is solidifying and expanding its distribution agreement with a local company, with plans to grow the footprint of its HiFi long-read sequencers among both clinical and research labs.
PHASE Scientific raises $34M for urine test platform spanning cancer, women’s health and more

2 weeks ago | fiercebiotech.com | Conor Hale

A Hong Kong-based developer of a catalog of urine-based tests for cancer, infectious diseases, women’s health and more has raised $34 million in venture capital funds to increase its global commercial reach. PHASE Scientific’s goal is to provide a range of non-invasive diagnostic tests through home sample collection, with a urine DNA concentration platform that allows it to chase sensitive biomarkers.
Medtronic to spin out diabetes division as $2.8B independent player

2 weeks ago | fiercebiotech.com | Conor Hale

Medtronic plans to separate from its diabetes business and launch it as an independent company—one that will count more than 8,000 global employees and carry a nearly $3 billion portfolio of insulin delivery systems and wearable blood sugar trackers. The medtech giant said it aims to complete the spinoff within the next 18 months, with the goal of taking the new company public through an IPO. It is set to be led by Medtronic’s current diabetes president, Que Dallara.
Philips to test ultra-low dose X-ray technique in cath lab study

2 weeks ago | fiercebiotech.com | Conor Hale

Philips is launching a new clinical trial aimed at reducing the amount of radiation used during coronary procedures, with an ultra-low X-ray dose technique that aims to cut exposures to patients and providers in the cath lab. The randomized, unblinded study, named RADIQAL, will look to enroll more than 800 patients in the U.S. and Europe. It was announced during the annual EuroPCR interventional cardiology conference, being held this week in Paris.