Now that CMS has posted the interim payment amounts for more than 100 new molecular pathology codes, industry is concerned whether the tests will be covered at all.

The industry’s angst is growing several months after CMS announced a plan to task contractors with independently setting regional payments for more than 100 new molecular diagnostic codes. A breakdown in the process so far, stakeholders say, could have a lasting impact on small, venture-backed labs.

Recent executive-level hires and director appointments at venture capital firms and biopharma and medtech start-ups.

Biopharma, medical device and in vitro diagnostics start-ups brought in a total of $548 million in Q4 2010, a 30% drop from the previous quarter and a 24% decrease from Q4 2009. Six start-up acquisitions were completed - five in the biopharmaceutical industry and one diagnostic transaction. In the fourth quarter there were 27 start-up biopharma alliances covering a wide range of therapeutic categories, and fourteen of them involved large molecules.