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BioUtah Life Science Blog

Friday, August 23, 2019

Vice President Mike Pence Tours Merit Medical, Talks U.S., Mexico, Canada Agreement

On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence toured Merit Medical, where he delivered remarks to employees, local government officials and guests in support of the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement USMCA.

Denise Bell

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Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Sen. Mitt Romney Hosts Roundtable Discussion with Utah Life Sciences Leaders

On Monday, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) held a roundtable discussion with leaders from more than 30 Utah-based medical device, pharma and diagnostic companies. Held at Biomerics' new facility, Romney first toured Biomerics with CEO Travis Sessions, pictured above, then engaged in a discussion with companies on a range of federal issues impacting Utah’s growing life sciences industry. Kelvyn Cullimore, President and CEO of BioUtah, facilitated the discussion, which largely focused on the medical device tax,

Denise Bell

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Friday, August 16, 2019

Grassroots Alert: Sign the Letter to Congress to End the Medical Device Tax

MDMA spearheaded a similar broad-based coalition letter in 2009, collecting hundreds of signatories. Please join the effort to end the tax by sending a response to “devicetaxletter@gmail.com" by September 3 indicating that your company/organization will sign on.

Denise Bell

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Friday, August 9, 2019

Medicare to Cover CAR -T-Cell Therapy Nationwide

In an August 7 decision memo, CMS announced that Medicare will start covering CAR T-cell therapy for patients with certain cancers.

Denise Bell

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Friday, August 9, 2019

Advamed Payment Alert: Breakthrough Pathway Payment for Medical Devices

Earlier this week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its FY 2020 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Final Rule. In this rule, CMS finalized its proposals to create an alternative payment pathway for breakthrough medical devices and increase the NTAP payment level to 65 percent.

AdvaMed

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Friday, August 9, 2019

New Medicare Payment Policy for CAR T-Cell Therapy

In its final FY 2020 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System rule released on August 2, (see fact sheet), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, increased the marginal rate of technology add-on payments for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies from 50% to 65%. CAR T-cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses specially altered T cells, a part of the body’s immune system, to kill tumors and fight cancer. The payment increase would only apply for two years.

Denise Bell

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Thursday, August 8, 2019

Industry Talks Life Sciences Careers with Students

On Wednesday, a half dozen Utah life sciences companies loaded up power points, videos and sample products - from catheters to knee and joint replacements - to talk with parents and students about career opportunities, as part of an evening Medical Innovations Pathways (MIP) orientation at Granite School District.

Denise Bell

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Friday, August 2, 2019

Trump Proposes Pathways to Import Canadian Drugs

On Wednesday, The Trump Administration announced a Safe Importation Action Plan - PDF* that outlines two potential pathways that could open the door to import lower cost drugs from Canada. However, no timeline for the plan, which will be formalized through rule making, has been provided.

Denise Bell

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Friday, August 2, 2019

Biomerics Merges with Northeast Laser & Electropolish, Creates New Metals Division

Biomerics, a leading contract manufacturer for the interventional medical device market, is pleased to announce a merger with Northeast Laser & Electropolish (NLE), a Monroe, CT-based company. NLE provides contract manufacturing, laser processing, machining, and metal finishing services to a wide range of medical device manufacturers.

Aden Hirtle

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Friday, July 26, 2019

Senate Finance Committee Approves Drug Pricing Bill

On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee passed the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act (PDPRA) (https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/FINAL Description of the Chairman's Mark for the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019.pdf) aimed at cutting drug prices in Medicare Part B and Part D, and Medicaid.

Denise Bell

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