Business

Medtech leaders expect faster change in 2026 as AI integration speeds up across all business aspects, according to a Deloitte survey of medtech execs that also predicted M&A activity will remain strong in 2026. While optimism is high, uncertainties remain.

The rise and fall of US tariffs and the chill headwind from China’s state procurement policies have blown onto medtech’s radar. But how to monetize AI is the dominant concern up and down the industry.

An interactive look at medtech and diagnostics deals made during November 2025. Data courtesy of Biomedtracker.

Freenome will combine with Perceptive Capital Solutions Corp in a SPAC deal worth $330m. The goal is to advance Freenome’s blood-based tests for early detection of cancer and, in 2026, launch its advanced colorectal cancer detection test SimpleScreen, currently under FDA review.

Medtech leaders expect faster change in 2026 as AI integration speeds up across all business aspects, according to a Deloitte survey of medtech execs that also predicted M&A activity will remain strong in 2026. While optimism is high, uncertainties remain.

Neurotech start-up Subsense raised another $10m, bringing its total seed funding to $27m. The proceeds will be used primarily to accelerate and enhance the company’s pre-clinical research program.

Xeltis secured €50m to scale and market its aXess vascular access graft, a bioresorbable scaffold that transforms into a patient’s own living vessel. With EU regulatory review underway and US trials advancing, Xeltis sees new US Medicare rules as a major opening for alternative treatments.

Medtech funding in 2025 sees a trend of fewer, yet larger deals with total funding of $3.6bn in Q1, $2.6bn in Q2 and $2.9bn in Q3, said LSI’s Nick Talamantes. In 2026, he expects a continued investor focus on more mature firms in areas of oncology, cardiology and neurology.

Advocates spanning the spectrum of women’s health met in Manhattan to discuss the gender disparities that remain in healthcare and how public policy can correct them and the enormous ROI investors in women’s health can potentially reap.

US FDA inspections of three Philips manufacturing sites earlier this year resulted in a September warning letter that claimed the company was not in conformity with current good manufacturing practices. Philips says it is addressing the agency’s concerns and working to enhance its quality systems.

Thena Capital, the first UK-based early-stage specialist medtech firm, has made its first investment since closing its £50m fund. Medtech Insight spoke with general partner Pamela Walker Geddes to gain insight into Thena Capital’s investment strategy.

Faction Imaging has come out of stealth mode following six years of research and development studying medical imaging workflows in India, Japan and the US.

Medtech leaders expect faster change in 2026 as AI integration speeds up across all business aspects, according to a Deloitte survey of medtech execs that also predicted M&A activity will remain strong in 2026. While optimism is high, uncertainties remain.

Shantanu Gaur, CEO of Allurion Technologies, a company that has developed a swallowable gastric balloon, believes that GLP-1 sales could indirectly lead to increased demand for medical device-based bariatric procedures, especially as patients seek alternatives to drug side effects and weight regain.

Neurotech start-up Subsense raised another $10m, bringing its total seed funding to $27m. The proceeds will be used primarily to accelerate and enhance the company’s pre-clinical research program.

The US FDA’s General Hospital and Personal Use Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee convened Wednesday to discuss germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) devices as a mode of disinfection, a technology that has emerged since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Start-up medtech firms in the west of Ireland can benefit from incubator programs at two of the region’s universities, which support innovators across the medical device and digital health industries from concept to multi-employee businesses.

The French start-up has successfully implanted its ‘fishtail’ LVAD in a patient for 84 days, where it served as an effective bridge to transplant. Medtech Insight spoke to the company’s CEO, Louis de Lillers, to hear more about the company’s progress and his take on the evolving LVAD market.

The prosthetics market is evolving due to an increase in amputees from war and disease. Unhindr has developed a novel prostetic liner that can reduce the risk of further injury, while Esper is crafting advanced hand implants for Ukraine's front-line soldiers.

At the Medical Device Innovation Consortium summit, Cogmedix's Scott Cook discussed the challenges and benefits of transitioning to the FDA's Voluntary Improvement Program, which promotes honesty and opportunities for improvement, leading to faster market access and cost savings.

Medtech leaders expect faster change in 2026 as AI integration speeds up across all business aspects, according to a Deloitte survey of medtech execs that also predicted M&A activity will remain strong in 2026. While optimism is high, uncertainties remain.

Shantanu Gaur, CEO of Allurion Technologies, a company that has developed a swallowable gastric balloon, believes that GLP-1 sales could indirectly lead to increased demand for medical device-based bariatric procedures, especially as patients seek alternatives to drug side effects and weight regain.

The rise and fall of US tariffs and the chill headwind from China’s state procurement policies have blown onto medtech’s radar. But how to monetize AI is the dominant concern up and down the industry.

Zimmer Biomet is preparing to introduce iodine-coated hip implants to international markets, offering joint replacement patients a new alternative intended to ward off infection. The company intends to broaden the platform’s reach into “knees, shoulders and other categories in due time.”