MPO’s Most-Read Stories This Week—Sept. 10

In the 1785 poem “The Task,” English bard William Cowper deemed variety “the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor.” 

The same can be said of MPO’s top website traffic drivers this past week. There was something to interest almost every visitor: legal drama, study results, personnel moves, product launches, and lingering supply chain troubles.

Medtronic led the pack by sharing ADAPT study results. ADAPT is the first multi-national randomized controlled study evaluating the MiniMed 780G system’s performance versus standard of care (multiple daily injections (MDI) + continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)) in patients with type 1 diabetes not currently meeting glycemic targets. The trial evaluated 82 individuals who were using MDI and an intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitor (isCGM) to manage their diabetes. On average, the study subjects were scanning their isCGM frequently (about nine daily scans) yet had suboptimal HbA1C above 8% at baseline. When comparing A1C results at six months, 27.8% of individuals using the MiniMed 780G system in the study achieved an HbA1c below 7%, while no individuals that remained on MDI +isCGM achieved that result. 

Philips came in a close second with its latest legal travails. Philips RS North America LLC, formerly known as Respironics Inc., agreed earlier this month to pay more than $24 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it misled federal healthcare programs by paying kickbacks to suppliers. The affected programs included Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE, the latter of which is the healthcare program for active military and their families. The settlement resolves allegations that Respironics convinced durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers to submit false claims for ventilators, oxygen concentrators, CPAP and BiPAP machines, and other respiratory-related medical equipment by providing illegal inducements to the suppliers. Respironics allegedly gave suppliers physician prescribing data (for free) to help their marketing efforts to doctors. 

Dexcom garnered page views with its promotion of Chief Technology Officer Jake Leach to chief operating officer, as did Biosense Webster with its launch of the OCTARAY Mapping Catheter with TRUEref Technology powered by the CARTO 3 Version 7 System. The OCTARAY Mapping Catheter is designed to map cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation (AFib). The catheter with TRUEref Technology gives physicians the necessary information for catheter ablation procedures that treat cardiac arrhythmias. 

1. Medtronic Shares Results From ADAPT Study Evaluating the MiniMed 780G System

2. Philips Subsidiary to Pay More Than $24M for Alleged Kickback Scheme

3. Medical Device Shortages are a Life-Threatening Issue for Patients

4. Dexcom Promotes CTO Jake Leach to COO

5. Biosense Webster Launches the OCTARAY Mapping Catheter