It's good news for local company Cook Medical and others that produce life-saving medical devices that a U.S. House committee approved the repeal of a tax that was scheduled to be implemented in January 2013.
The House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday gave the OK to the "Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2011," which is meant to prevent an excise tax that would have been placed on medical devices. Congress should pass the act.
The tax would also affect research and development investment for medical devices like those produced by Cook Medical. This could lead many such companies to move their operations, jobs and plants overseas.
Cook Medical employs about 537 in its endoscopy division in Winston-Salem. Employees design, develop and manufacture medical devices that are used to perform minimally invasive medical procedures such as colonoscopies.
Members of the North Carolina congressional delegation from both sides of the aisle cosponsored the legislation to repeal the tax, including Sen. Richard Burr, Rep. Walter B. Jones, Rep. Larry Kissell, Rep. Mike McIntyre, Rep. Virginia Foxx, Rep. Sue Myrick and Rep. Howard Coble. It is expected to pass the House. We hope it will pass in the Senate as well.
More.
Cook Medical announced today that its Evolution® Duodenal Controlled-Release Stent was recently granted 510(k) clearance by the FDA. The new stent expands palliative care options for patients experiencing malignant gastric outlet obstruction, a late stage complication of a variety of GI related cancers with pancreatic cancer being the most common cause. The stent offers these patients a minimally invasive alternative to relieve the symptoms and potentially life-threatening complications resulting from duodenal obstruction, such as abdominal pain, vomiting, malnutrition and aspiration.
Do you have an innovative product, service, concept or procedure? The third annual Cook Medical Innovation Award, presented by Cook Medical in partnership with the Chamber, recognizes outstanding locally-developed and novel technologies. Submit your ideas by August 15. The winner will be recognized at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting luncheon on November 30 and presented a unique award designed by a local artist. Click here for details and nomination form.
From the Winston-Salem Journal:
Registration is now open for the Chamber Tech Council 20th Anniversary Gala, September 23, 2010 at the Milton Rhodes Downtown Center for the Arts. Join us for cocktails and appetizers at 5:30 p.m., followed by insightful highlights of Winston-Salem’s and the Triad’s transition to a technology and knowledge-based economy. Meet the leaders of this effort, and celebrate the people who are working tirelessly toward vision, innovation, and growth. Cook Medical is our title sponsor. For more information, contact Andrea Howell at 336-728-9228 or ahowell@winstonsalem.com.
