Innovative device companies have always had to contend with the Sword of Damocles of unexpected technological obsolescence, but for would-be developers of interventional devices for the prevention of restenosis, the sword is dangling perilously close. In the RAVEL trial, a 238-patient clinical trial on a drug eluting stent, treated patients experienced 0% restenosis compared to 26% in the control group. Now, device developers with alternatives to stents reposition themselves to sustain businesses in the face of potentially shrinking target markets. Many argue that they will serve certain applications better than stents; others hope to work with drug-coated stents to enhance performance, many believe that economics will leave room for alternative approaches, and still others are getting out of the coronary business entirely.

In December, a California federal court ordered the US Environmental Protection Agency to amend its TSCA Chemical Data Reporting rule to address asbestos information-gathering “loopholes,” including a current exemption for asbestos that occurs as an impurity in raw materials such as cosmetic talc.

L'Aquila, Italy-based Dante Laboratories company announced a £30m investment in global surveillance of new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. CEO Andrea Riposat discussed the purchase.