Between Cases Daily · Oct 27: Medicare RPM vendor rule, Talzenna moves earlier, Abbott's new MRD test

A proposed Medicare rule would stop paying for remote patient monitoring run by outside vendors (KFF Health News, Oct. 26). Under the proposal, Medicare would pay clinicians only when the service is provided by someone at the facility where they work. It applies to traditional Medicare, not Medicare Advantage. CMS points to 2024 and 2025 HHS Office of Inspector General reports that raised concerns about fraud, missing data, and patients not getting treatment from the clinician who prescribed the device. Most rural facilities that offer these programs rely on third-party vendors, and more than 230 vendors, health systems and patient groups had signed an opposition letter as of Sept. 14. Humana, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Sutter Health largely support the change. If you sell connected BP cuffs, scales, glucose meters or anything else that feeds an RPM program, find out now who does the monitoring for each of your accounts. (KFF Health News)

FDA approved Pfizer's Talzenna (talazoparib) plus Xtandi (enzalutamide) for HRR gene-mutated metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (Oct. 26). The combination was first approved in 2023 for castration-resistant disease, so this moves it to an earlier stage. In the Phase 3 TALAPRO-3 trial of 599 patients, adding Talzenna cut the risk of radiographic progression or death by 52% compared with placebo plus Xtandi. Overall survival data were still immature. Anemia was the most common grade 3 or higher side effect, at 51% in the Talzenna group versus 3% in the control group. Patients must be identified by an FDA-authorized test, and FDA notes that FoundationOne CDx and FoundationOne Liquid CDx were already approved as companion diagnostics for this use. If you're in diagnostics, that's your angle: this label runs through biomarker testing at diagnosis. (FDA, Pfizer)

Abbott launched its next-generation Oncodetect molecular residual disease (MRD) test (Oct. 26). It's a tumor-informed blood test for solid tumors: the lab reads DNA markers from the patient's tumor sample, then looks for those same signals in the blood during and after treatment. Whole-genome sequencing lets it track up to 5,000 patient-specific variants, up from as many as 200 in the first-generation test, and Abbott says it can detect below one part per million under high-end inputs. The test has not been cleared or approved by FDA; it's run in a CLIA-certified lab, and Abbott says it's working to broaden payer coverage. If you're interviewing for cancer diagnostics roles, know what "tumor-informed" means and be ready to talk about how a test sells before coverage is settled. (Abbott)

Stryker completed its acquisition of ZuriMED (Oct. 26). The deal adds the FiberLocker System, a commercialized rotator cuff augmentation technology designed to increase the biomechanical strength of the repair, to Stryker's Sports Medicine portfolio. The release doesn't give a price. If you're chasing a sports medicine role, it's a name worth knowing before your interview. (Stryker)

Smith+Nephew's merger talks with J&J's orthopaedics unit reportedly collapsed over who would be CEO (Reuters, Oct. 23). Reuters, citing a person familiar with the matter and an earlier Financial Times report, says J&J wanted its orthopaedics head to run the combined company and Smith+Nephew wanted its own CEO. The same source says Smith+Nephew had approached J&J earlier this year with an offer valuing J&J's hip and knee unit at as much as $22 billion. Both companies declined to comment on the FT report. Reuters also notes J&J said last week it is leaning toward a spinoff of the unit, with a separation targeted for mid-2027. For working ortho reps, that leaves the standalone DePuy Synthes plan in place for now. (Reuters via Euronext)

Stryker, Associate Sales Representative, Joint Replacement — St. Louis, MO. Posted Oct. 26. $60,100–$93,500 salary plus bonus eligible. This is an entry-level role: you'd cover cases, run product evaluations in the OR and office, and learn from the joint replacement reps, with on-call duties that include evenings, weekends and holidays. Asks for a bachelor's; or an associate's or medical certification (CST, PT, CPT, etc.) plus 2 years of related experience; or a high school diploma plus 4 years of related experience; or 4 years of active-duty military service. Medical or B2B sales experience, a sales or marketing internship, and college extracurriculars such as athletics are preferred. Travel is 30%. Posting

Pfizer, Health & Science Professional (listed as Cardiovascular Specialist) — Ohio. Posted Oct. 26. Base $76,000–$199,600 plus a quarterly sales incentive bonus. It's open to people outside pharma: a bachelor's plus 2 years in professional sales, running a small business, customer service or account management, a healthcare role such as RN or PT, teaching, or full-time military. You must live within 25 miles of the territory. The title says cardiovascular, but the description talks about Pfizer's migraine team, so ask the recruiter which product you'd carry. Last day to apply is Nov. 9. Posting

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Oncology Sales Specialist, CAR-T — Richmond, VA. Posted Oct. 26. Anticipated base $99,000–$185,500. You'd be the main J&J contact for certified CAR-T treatment centers in a multiple myeloma franchise, and the territory includes Fairfax County. Asks for a bachelor's, 5+ years of direct pharma or biotech selling (or relevant clinical experience), and hospital or large-account sales experience. Travel is up to 60%. Posting

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