This year’s European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Munich, Germany, was a stark example of exactly where the cardiovascular market space is headed. This congress fully emphasized the new and innovative technologies that are coming out on the medical device and medical technology side, while leaving the market’s pharmaceutical wing in the dust. In fact, out of the nine hours over three days and 18 seminars on cardiac therapy innovation, only one seminar, given by Amgen, spoke about a pharmaceutical interventional treatment for heart disease. Thus, if there is one message to take away from the ESC 2012 congress, it is that the pharmaceutical industry has moved away from the cardiovascular market

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded a five-year research project grant (R01) to identify harmonized reconstruction parameters for each currently-produced positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scanner for use in clinical trials. The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging’s (SNMMI) Clinical Trials Network (CTN) will serve as an administrative coordinating body for the Image Reconstruction Harmonization Grant, which was awarded in August to the Universities of Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

October 3, 2012 — Royal Philips Electronics announced it is donating the one-millionth HeartStart automated external defibrillator (AED) manufactured to Everett Mountain Rescue Unit (EMRU) of Snohomish, Wash. EMRU is a volunteer search and rescue organization serving Snohomish County, also the location of Philips’ HeartStart headquarters.

October 3, 2012 — Sharp Memorial Hospital was the first on the West Coast to participate in Medtronic's SYMPLICITY HTN-3 clinical trial in March, and is currently the leading trial site in Southern California, to test an experimental medical device that aims to lower high blood pressure by using radio frequency energy to disrupt hyperactive nerves that contribute to the condition.

October 3, 2012 — Stentys, a medical technology company commercializing the world's first and only self-apposing stent to treat acute myocardial infarction (AMI), announced today the European commercial release of an enhanced stent-delivery system for its Self-Apposing stent.

October 2, 2012 — AstraZeneca has announced the results from a sub-analysis of PLATO that evaluated the effects of age on clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Results of the analysis suggest the overall findings from the PLATO study of a greater reduction in thrombotic cardiovascular (CV) events with Brilinta (ticagrelor) tablets plus aspirin compared to clopidogrel plus aspirin were consistent regardless of age.

Terumo Cardiovascular Systems has announced the introduction of the VirtuoSaph Plus Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting System following clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

October 2, 2012 — A new survey of physicians shows that if the U.S. presidential election were held today, 55 percent would vote for Mitt Romney and 36 percent would support President Barack Obama, according to a survey conducted by Jackson & Coker, a division of Jackson Healthcare, the third largest healthcare staffing company in the United States.

October 2, 2012 — A novel blood thinner recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Pradaxa (dabigatran), has been rapidly adopted into clinical practice, yet thus far has had little impact on improving treatment rates for atrial fibrillation.

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