Tafamidis is the first treatment to improve survival and reduce hospitalizations in a rare heart condition called transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, according to late-breaking research presented in a Hot Line Session at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2018 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

W. L. Gore & Associates Inc. (Gore) announced the acquisition of Pipeline Medical Technologies Inc., a privately held medical technology company focused on advancing chordal repair for degenerative mitral regurgitation (DMR) via a transcatheter procedure.

Aspirin prevented serious vascular events in patients with diabetes who did not already have cardiovascular disease, but it caused almost as many major bleeds and there was no effect on cancers. These are the late-breaking findings presented in a Hot Line Session at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2018, Aug. 25-28 in Munich, Germany, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Biotronik announced it is now the exclusive U.S. distributor for the MoMe Kardia external cardiac diagnostic monitor from digital health company InfoBionic. The device benefits patients suspected of experiencing cardiac arrhythmias.

Prevencio Inc. announced new data demonstrating its HART PAD test accurately diagnoses peripheral artery disease (PAD) in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, a patient population in which PAD prevalence has traditionally been difficult to assess. Researchers believe these findings, presented at the 2018 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, Aug. 25-28 in Munich, Germany, could lead to early identification of PAD and improve patient clinical outcomes, as well as prevent patients without PAD from undergoing unnecessary, expensive and invasive tests.

Philips announced it has acquired Xhale Assurance Inc., a U.S.-based scale-up company developing and commercializing next-generation sensor technologies. Xhale Assurance’s disposable pulse oximetry sensor is placed on the wing (ala) of the nose, and can reliably measure and transmit a patient’s heart rate and blood oxygenation under low-perfusion conditions that are challenging for conventional fingertip pulse oximetry sensors. Philips said this technology will broaden and differentiate its existing portfolio of oxygen saturation monitoring solutions and allow the company to expand into a currently underserved clinical segment. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

A weight loss drug does not increase cardiovascular events, according to late breaking results from the CAMELLIA-TIMI 61 trial. Results were presented in a Hot Line Session at the 2018 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, Aug. 25-28 in Munich, Germany, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.