American Industrial Partners acquires Avanos Medical for $1.27B at a 72% premium — the biggest PE take-private in MedTech devices this quarter. Stryker enters the intravascular lithotripsy market with the Amplitude Vascular acquisition. Stereotaxis adds Robocath for $45M, combining magnetic and mechanical endovascular navigation. Deep Dive: what three acquisitions in one week signal about the M&A flywheel.
Baylis Medical’s PowerWire 14 RF Guidewire earns FDA 510(k) clearance — the first 0.014″ radiofrequency crossing wire for peripheral vascular intervention. FDA issues warning letter to Medline Industries over CAPA failures and cleanroom violations. US and EU regulators explore mutual recognition of device approvals. Deep Dive: Rock Health Q1 2026 raises $4B but 60% is concentrated in 12 deals.
FDA ClearanceWarning LetterRegulatory PolicyUS-EU Alignment
Blackstone and TPG complete the $18.3 billion take-private of Hologic, removing one of MedTech’s most recognizable Nasdaq tickers. Kandu Health publishes the first randomized controlled trial for its IpsiHand brain-computer interface. “Liberation Day” tariffs with rates reaching triple digits land on device supply chains. Deep Dive: the PE go-private screening framework behind the Hologic deal.
Boston Scientific's Watchman meets all endpoints in the landmark 3,000-patient CHAMPION-AF trial — superior bleeding protection, non-inferior stroke prevention — and could expand its addressable market from 5M to 20M patients. J&J's Impella fails two PCI trials at ACC 2026, prompting an NEJM editorial calling for the end of routine use. Epia Neuro launches a brain-computer interface for stroke rehabilitation.
Boston Scientific clears Asurys, the first device to automatically manage kidney stone surgery irrigation based on real-time intrarenal pressure. Butterfly Network's AI estimates gestational age from a handheld "blind sweep" — no trained sonographer required. Abbott joins Whoop's $575M Series G as a strategic investor at a $10B valuation. And Artemis II launches with wearable biosensors and portable ultrasound onboard.
Medtronic's Stealth AXiS receives FDA clearance for AI cranial navigation and ENT, including automatic tractography brain mapping. Philips and Edwards Lifesciences clear DeviceGuide AI software for mitral valve repair guidance. Samsung Medison unifies NeuroLogica and Boston Imaging as Samsung HME America. Abbott closes its $21 billion acquisition of Exact Sciences, adding Cologuard and Oncotype DX.
FDA ClearanceAI-EnabledNeurosurgery$21B M&AImaging
GE HealthCare's Photonova Spectra gets FDA 510(k) clearance — the second commercial PCCT system in the U.S. MARS Bioimaging clears a portable photon-counting CT for extremity imaging at point of care. Varian TrueBeam gets the first FDA clearance for low-dose radiation therapy in osteoarthritis. Medtronic and Merit Medical ink a distribution deal for the ViaVerte basivertebral nerve ablation system.
FDA ClearanceImagingRadiation TherapyDistributionSpine
Intuitive Surgical recalls its SureForm 30 Gray Reload stapler after one patient death and four serious injuries. The FDA approves Flow Neuroscience’s FL-100 — the first at-home tDCS device for major depression. MiniMed Flex clears as the world’s smallest smartphone-controlled insulin pump. Zimmer Biomet’s ROSA robotic knee gets an updated FDA clearance with digital recovery tracking.
Medtronic spends $1.1B in five weeks acquiring CathWorks and Scientia Vascular. Insulet recalls Omnipod 5 pods after 18 serious adverse events. The FTC blocks Alcon's acquisition of Lensar, resetting the cataract robotics market. And the EPA proposes rolling back EtO emission limits for medical device sterilization facilities.
A geopolitically motivated wiper attack disrupts Stryker operations. Intuitive Surgical hit by phishing targeting R&D systems. Dutch autonomous blood-draw startup closes $70M. Prodeon Medical gets FDA clearance for a novel retrievable BPH implant that leaves no permanent hardware behind. Danaher in advanced talks to acquire Masimo at ~$9.9B.
Cybersecurity$70M Series BFDA 510(k)M&ASurgical Robotics
Baxter CFO Joel Grade departs; Anita Zielinski named interim CFO. Boston Scientific acquires Valencia Technologies and its eCoin tibial nerve stimulator for urge urinary incontinence. Intuitive Surgical's Firefly Fluorescence Imaging platform expands FDA-cleared indications. Omni Medical acquired in a strategic urology play.
Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo joins the GE HealthCare board. Fresenius Kabi issues critical software fix for its Ivenix infusion pumps. Natus Medical acquires TheraB to expand neonatal care portfolio. AtriCure presents at Citizens Life Sciences Conference. Deep Dive: Intuitive vs. Medtronic Hugo vs. J&J Ottava — the race for the OR.
Haemonetics expands into structural heart closure with the Vivasure deal. Laborie Medical closes its $465M acquisition of the JADA System for postpartum hemorrhage (closed January 28). MiniMed files for an IPO — Medtronic's former diabetes division coming back to market. MedTech tariff watch: what the new trade policy means for device manufacturers.
Boston Scientific announced January 15 its $14.5 billion agreement to acquire Penumbra — the biggest MedTech deal of the year. Medtronic reports PFA catheter procedures up 80% worldwide, 137% in the U.S. Vena Medical scores FDA 510(k) for its vascular access needle. The FDA's Quality Management System Regulation (QMSR) is now in effect as of February 2. Welcome to Issue #1.
