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Medtronic’s decision to split its diabetes unit into a separate business is expected to improve its financial performance in the diabetes space. Credit: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock

Medtronic has announced plans to separate out its diabetes business into a new standalone company.

The separation will serve to create an “independent, scaled leader in diabetes” that boasts an ecosystem of insulin management devices including pumps and continuous glucose monitors, Medtronic said.

The split will also in turn create a wholly “more focused” Medtronic, with a more simplified portfolio in high margin growth markets.

Medtronic’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) fell by 2.27% at market close following the announcement on 21 May.

“It’s going to give Medtronic some significant capital to increase their presence in other, more interventional, areas, especially in cardiovascular. They have a history of inorganic expansion, so I can see this as providing ammunition for a big acquisition in 2026-7,” said Dr Andrew Thompson, director of therapy research and analysis in medical devices for GlobalData reacting to the separation. 

With a preferred path of an initial public offering (IPO) and subsequent split-off, Medtronic anticipates the split to complete within 18 months through a series of capital markets transactions. 

Innovative Health has been awarded $147m in damages from a lawsuit against Biosense Webster relating to the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) business’s policy to withhold cardiac mapping support services from hospitals that chose to purchase reprocessed catheters from Innovative instead of Biosense’s new devices.

Originally seeking $143m in damages, Innovative first filed its lawsuit in 2022, arguing that Biosense’s policy unfairly restricted competition and violated both the Sherman Act and California’s Cartwright Act that prohibit market monopolisation. Initially dismissed in 2022, the case was later revived by the Ninth Circuit in 2023, paving the way for a jury trial.

Delivering a unanimous verdict in a California court, a federal jury found that J&J subsidiary Biosense Webster violated federal and state antitrust laws by withholding clinical support to hospitals using Innovative Health’s FDA-regulated, reprocessed catheters. 

AdvaMed’s president and CEO Scott Whitaker has called for a “zero for zero” reciprocal tariff model for medical devices, as the trade association warns of the risks facing the American medtech industry amid international trade pressures.

Whitaker made the comments during a US Senate Committee on Finance hearing focused on the impact of tariffs on supply chains in the country. Though generally supporting US President Donald Trump’s moves to “fix longstanding and unfair trade imbalances”, AdvaMed maintained its long-adopted position of seeking tariff relief for medical products.

Trump’s ongoing trade war has brought instability to many industries, with healthcare being no exception. His sweeping tariffs have disrupted medical device supply chains globally. Levies placed on China – although currently paused – have particularly impaired procurement channels for device components made in the country. 

A new report by Royal Philips warns that the ‘trust gap’ around deploying AI in healthcare systems threatens to stall progress at a time when innovation is crucial.

Philips’ Future Health Index (FHI) 2025 analysed priorities and perspectives among 6,000 patients and 1,900 healthcare professionals (HCP) across 16 countries, including the US, UK, China, and India.

The average global wait time to see a specialist was revealed to be 70 days. Patients in some countries reported delays of four months or more. The average wait time in the UK stood at 109 days – the third highest globally.

According to Philips’ chief medical officer, Dr Carla Goulart Peron, cardiac patients face “especially dangerous” delays, with 31% of those surveyed being hospitalised before even seeing a specialist.

“Without urgent action, a projected shortfall of 11 million health workers by 2030 could leave millions without timely care,” Dr Peron added. 

Siemens Healthineers has become the latest company to double-down on investment in the US amid ongoing tariff fallout, outlaying $150m to bring back manufacturing in the country from Mexico. 

The latest investment will see the Germany-headquartered giant relocate manufacturing operations for its subsidiary Varian from Baja, Mexico to Palo Alto, California. 

Siemens Healthineers, which employs 17,000 people in the US, said the move would add around 50 new jobs in the manufacturing of Varian’s radiotherapy products. 

 Siemens acquired Varian for $26.4bn in April 2021. Varian is known for making a range of devices involved in the cancer treatment space, such as linear accelerators, radiotherapy systems, and diagnostic software. 

The expansion to operations in the US, a country responsible for 36% of the company’s global revenue, includes opening “mega supply depots” in New Jersey and California to increase availability of device parts by 33%.