Medtronic's $9 billion minimally invasive therapies group — the company's second-largest business line — has ventilators, remote patient monitoring tools and minimally invasive surgery devices in the pipeline for the rest of the year, according to Bob White, group president.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Mr. White said these plans make for "the most exciting pipeline in the company's history right now, and it's because we believe we're providing technologies that make a difference to clinicians."
Mr. White also shared insights on Medtronic's contributions to the fight against COVID-19. Five takeaways:
1. Medtronic has drastically increased ventilator production, from 200 a week in the early days of the pandemic to 700 per week in May. It aims to produce over a thousand ventilators weekly by the end of June.
2. In March, the company shared intellectual property for the design of one of its ventilators. The downloadable documentation has been accessed about 200,000 times, and its release has opened up "unique partnerships" with companies such as SpaceX, Mr. White said.
3. Medtronic installed over 400 remote patient monitoring tools over Easter weekend at the request of New York Gov. Andew Cuomo. The monitors can be managed by as few as 10 clinicians, helping protect workers from infection and conserve PPE.
4. When asked about how the U.S. national stockpile will hold up in case of a second COVID-19 surge, Mr. White said he believes "the country's well prepared," so long as Americans follow social distancing guidelines and other recommendations.
5. Medtronic's approach to allocation of equipment has centered on being ethical, clear and practical, Mr. White said. The device manufacturer has taken steps to ensure localities have the ventilators they need while aiming for transparency around allocation.
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