MPO’s Most-Read Stories This Week—May 28

Speculation and scandal drove MPO website traffic this past week.

Garnering the most pageviews was scuttlebutt about continuous glucose monitor (CGM) maker Dexcom in talks to acquire tubeless insulin pump manufacturer Insulet. Anonymous sources “with knowledge of the matter” claim a deal could be reached in the coming weeks, though discussions might be delayed or fall through, according to a Bloomberg report. The two companies began a partnership in 2020 to combine Dexcom’s CGM with Insulet’s Omnipod wearable pump. The two have since worked together on further iterations—Insulet’s recently FDA approved Omnipod 5 integrates with the Dexcom G6 CGM. Insulet has a market cap of $13.8 billion, and Dexcom has a market cap of $31.5 billion.
 
Thiepotential acquisition deal follows closely on the heels of Insulet CEO Shacey Petrovic stepping down due to personal family medical issues and circumstances. 

Also of interest to website visitors were the legal troubles of Larry W. Lindberg and Richard Poore.

Lindberg, of Mounds View, Minn., has been charged with one county of tax evasion for failing to pay several years’ worth of payroll taxes. According to court documents, Lindberg, 68, is a pharmacist and the CEO of Midwest Medical Holdings LLC, a Mounds View-based pharmaceutical and medical equipment company. As the owner and CEO of the company, Lindberg was required to file tax returns and pay taxes on behalf of the 41-year-old firm. Despite being aware of his company’s tax obligations, Lindberg failed to pay the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) several hundred thousand dollars in federal payroll taxes each quarter. In total, Lindberg and Midwest Medical Holdings owes more than $6 million in federal income taxes.

Poore, president and owner of The Prometheus Group, is being sued by the federal government for violating the False Claims Act. Specifically, the lawsuit accuses Poore and his firm of causing healthcare providers to bill Medicare for services in which the providers improperly re-used single-user rectal sensors and single-use catheters on multiple patients. The government claims the reuse of these devices unnecessarily exposed vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries to the risks of serious bacterial, fungal and viral infections.
 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the Prometheus rectal pressure sensor to be used as a single-user device and the anorectal manometry catheter to be used as a single-use device. But according to the government’s complaint, the defendants for years encouraged and instructed healthcare providers to reuse the rectal pressure sensors and anorectal manometry catheters on multiple patients, using a glove or condom to cover the probes, as a way to reduce the overhead costs associated with Prometheus’s systems. In addition to the safety risks, Prometheus allegedly made no attempt to determine if the probes worked effectively when re-used under those conditions, the lawsuit charges.

Other news stories capturing page views this past week included FDA Breakthrough Status designation for Anumana’s AI-enhanced ECG-based pulmonary hypertension early detection algorithm, and I-VASC’s latest funding round.

1. Dexcom Reportedly in Talks to Acquire Insulet

2. Anumana’s ECG Pulmonary Hypertension AI Algorithm Gains Breakthrough Status

3. Medical Device CEO Charged With Tax Evasion

4. Prometheus Group Sued Over Reused Catheters and Rectal Sensors

5. I-VASC Raises $18M Euros in Series A Funding