Ardian pumps in $47M for high blood pressure device

Ardian , developer of a device that could help treat high blood pressure, has brought in $47 million in a third round of funding led by Medtronic and including Emergent Medical Partners , Advanced Technology Ventures , Morgenthaler Ventures and Split Rock Partners .

Based in… Continue Reading

Roundup: Stock market drops, Microsoft retreats, and more

Roundup: Stock market drops, Microsoft retreats, and more

Here’s the latest action:

Tech stocks lead market to new lows — The thing about a downturn is it can always get worse. The Dow and S&P both hit 11-year lows on Monday, with the tech-driven NASDAQ’s 3.7 percent decline outpacing 3.4 percent drops in the blue… Continue Reading

Why dangerous defibrillator leads could usher in new medical-device regulations

Why dangerous defibrillator leads could usher in new medical-device regulations

(UPDATED: See below.)

Medical-device startups are booming these days, as VCs throw money at everything from artificial spinal-disc fillers to implantable weight-control “neuromodulators” to vacuum devices that suck blood clots out of blocked vessels. (That appears to be in sharp contrast to biotech; see the most recent… Continue Reading

Spinal fusion: Will the Medtronic/Kyphon deal quell ferment in the orthopedic-implant market?

Spinal fusion: Will the Medtronic/Kyphon deal quell ferment in the orthopedic-implant market?

I didn’t write about Medtronics’ $3.9 billion acquisition of Kyphon when it was announced almost two weeks ago, largely because it seemed to be a pretty straightforward merger of two big public companies with relatively few implications for the venture medical-device business.

The good folks at… Continue Reading

For $50M, Water Street gets majority stake in Alpine Biomed

NeuroVista raises $33.8M for epilepsy devices

NeuroVista raises $33.8M for epilepsy devices

(CORRECTED: See below.)

Seattle-based NeuroVista, a developer of devices for the treatment of epilepsy, raised $33.8 million in a second-round funding and left behind its former name, BioNeuronics.

The company, founded in 2002 by whiz kid Daniel DiLorenzo, has been quiet about its technology and commercial direction. In… Continue Reading