Today's Topline - 4/7/20
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Source: MedTech Association
Good Tuesday morning. We’re calling this the glimmer of encouraging news edition.
Data from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut suggests that steps to control the coronavirus’s spread might be working. On both Sunday and Monday, fewer than 600 deaths were reported in New York. Governor Cuomo suggested that the state was nearing its apex, while cautioning that New York remained in a dire, unsustainable state of emergency.
Meanwhile, two MedTech members have made exciting announcements about advances in the fight against the coronavirus.
OrthoClinical Diagnostics has announced that it is launching to market a COVID-19 antibody test. Its test detects antibodies to COVID-19 that can be used to detect immune response to the virus. The test may be used in epidemiological research to better understand the spread of the disease and may also be used to aid in the diagnosis of suspected COVID-19 patients in conjunction with molecular tests. The test, which is expected to be available in a few weeks, was developed at Ortho’s Global Center of Excellence for Research and Development in Rochester.
Ethicon Inc., part of the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies, has partnered with Prisma Health to make and distribute a ventilator expansion device. The device, a ventilator expansion splitter, is authorized for emergency use to allow a single ventilator to be used for two rescuable patients for ventilatory support during the COVID-19 pandemic until individual ventilators are available. Using 3D printing manufacturing technology, Ethicon will manufacture and distribute the splitter at no cost to healthcare providers in the United States under an EUA during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The initial distribution of the device will be limited to the United States as Prisma Health and Ethicon are developing strategies to navigate various regulatory pathways and fulfill orders worldwide.
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