Brainstorm Health: Medtronic Buys Mazor, Almirall Allergan Deal, Alcohol Deaths

Good morning and happy Friday, readers—This is Sy. We’ve got a jam packed day so we’ll have to keep this one brief, but we’ll be back in the swing of things on Monday. (As a reminder, I’ll be moderating the luncheon panel at the Biden Cancer Summit in DC today at 12:50 pm EST—you can check out a live stream of the discussion with UCSF’s Dr. Laura Esserman, the Broad Institute and McGovern Institute’s Dr. Feng Zhang, and National Enterprise Associates’ Dr. Bibhash Mukhopadhyay here.)

In the meantime, read on for the day’s news and have a wonderful weekend.

DIGITAL HEALTH

Medtronic snaps up Mazor Robotics in advanced surgery push. Medical device giant Medtronic will buy Mazor Robotics for $1.64 billion as the company aims to expand its reach in the robot-assisted surgery industry. Specifically, Medtronic wants to leverage Mazor’s expertise in spine surgeries done with the help of minimally invasive robotic tech. The firm says it expects a double-digit return on investment within four years of the deal. (Wall Street Journal)

INDICATIONS

Spain’s Almirall buys Allergan’s U.S. medical dermatology portfolio. Spanish drug maker Almirall will purchase the bulk of Botox manufacturer Allergan’s U.S. medical dermatology portfolio (read: not cosmetic dermatology), with the exception of Rhofade. The deal is valued at $550 million in cash. (MarketWatch)

THE BIG PICTURE

WHO: 3 million people die from alcohol abuse each year. The World Health Organization (WHO) says in a new report that three million people around the globe die every year because of alcohol abuse—and that the issue most afflicts men. That’s means a striking 1 in 20 worldwide deaths were related to alcohol addiction. More than three quarters of the deaths were among men, and the problem is expected to become worse over the next decade. (Reuters)

REQUIRED READING

Google Admits It Lets Outside Services Share Your Gmail Data, by David Meyer

One Way the Next Crisis Will Look a Lot Like 2008, by Geoff Colvin

Health Is Politics on a Grand Scale, by Sandro Galea

Does Willingness to Welcome New Technology Really Depend on Age? by Anne Fisher