Molding, healthcare monopolies, and medtech outsourcing were MPO website winners this past week. 

Clinching the top spot on the most-read list was a Medtech Makers Q&A on molding. In an interview with MPO Editor-in-Chief Sean Fenske, MTD Micro Molding R&D Engineer Patrick Haney outlined some of the best practices involved in achieving an ideal molding design at the right price. “Front-end decisions like material choice and part design as it relates to mold complexity are the biggest factors,” Haney said. “In general, engineering projects never get simpler as they go on for medical devices; they only get more complex.”

The same can be said for the medtech outsourcing process. Partnerships, communication, just-in-time inventory, available labor, and reshoring are just a few of the factors impacting the sector and perplexing its participants. It’s not surprising then, that Fenske’s magazine feature on the state of the medtech outsourcing industry continued to amass pageviews this past week. “…the outsourcing trend in medtech is clearly growing,” Life Science Outsourcing CEO John Nino told MPO. “The pressure to reduce costs while simultaneously accelerating innovation and commercialization is immense. Additionally, navigating global supply chains and the complex medical device regulatory landscape is challenging. While outsourcing requires careful consideration, OEM/CMO partnerships are facilitating growth in the medtech sector.”

Uncle Sam’s ongoing battle to prevent healthcare monopolies drove a significant amount of website traffic this week as well. The U.S. Justice Department shared detailed on a task force it formed to protect the public against unfair competition and potential crimes within the healthcare market. The agency’s Force on Health Care Monopolies and Collusion (HCMC) aims to guide the division’s enforcement strategy and policy approach in healthcare by facilitating policy advocacy, investigations and, where warranted, civil and criminal enforcement in healthcare markets.

Other items of interest to cybervisitors included a new president/CEO at Pulse Biosciences and another Class I ventilator-related recall for Philips. 

1. Optimizing Price for a Medtech Molding Project—A Medtech Makers Q&A

2. Pulse Biosciences Names Burke Barrett as President & CEO

3. Philips’ Software-Related Trilogy Ventilator Recall is Class I

4. U.S. Government Forms Task Force Targeting Healthcare Monopolies, Collusion

5. Partner Preference in Full-Service Medical Device Outsourcing