Brief profiles of these recently formed companies: BioCritica, Entericon, Radisens Diagnostics and Sova Pharmaceuticals.

Protectimmun GMBH aims to leverage findings of a large epidemiological study showing that people exposed early in life to farms have reduced tendency to develop respiratory and other allergies. The German start-up thinks a component of barn dust can help train the human immune system so that it never perceives ordinary environmental substances as allergens.

This article was adapted from "Top Device Stories of 2010: Waiting for the Other Shoes to Fall," in the January 2011 issue of IN VIVO.

For much of the device industry, 2010 felt like a transition year, breeding uncertainty in a number of important areas, including the economy, health care reform, and impending changes to the 510(k) process. A review of the year just ended turns up these stories: Device M&A on the Rebound; Is A First-Mover Advantage Emerging In Medtech? Boston Scientific Is Back In The Game; Early-Stage Deals In Decline; The Future Of Medtech: Where Private Investment Dollars Are Flowing; Transcatheter Valves Take Center Stage; Spine's Downturn; Diabetes Assumptions Begin To Shift; A Landmark Year In Ophthalmology; Health Reform In 2010: A Beginning, Not An End; Changes At FDA: 510(k) Reform Takes Shape, and finally, Is Physician Choice In Product Selection In Danger?