The major players in electrophysiology – Boston Scientific Corp., Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic plc, Abbot Laboratories – showed up in force at the 2024 Heart Rhythm Society annual meeting in Boston May 16-19 to tout their pulsed field ablation devices and study results.
Pulsed field ablation dominated the news out of the Heart Rhythm Society meeting this week with three late-breaking studies highlighting the safety and efficacy of the technology replacing thermal ablation for treatment of atrial fibrillation and active discussion of the ‘unprecedented’ growth of these procedures. Boston Scientific Corp’s Farapulse is rapidly building dominance in the field, while results from Johnson & Johnson’s Varipulse study and Medtronic plc’s trial of the Affera system set up those companies for U.S. FDA approval later this year.
Field Medical Inc. kicked off its first-in-human study for its Fieldforce ablation system, designed for use in ventricular arrhythmias. The Ventricular Catheter Ablation Study study will enroll 60 patients in five centers around the world, most recently kicking off in the Na Homolce Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic.
Medtronic plc said it secured U.S. FDA approval for its first closed-loop spinal cord stimulator (SCS), designed to take in signals from the body and adjust its therapy automatically.
In its first quarter earnings call, Boston Scientific Corp. reported 72% global sales growth in its electrophysiology division, for $300 million, bolstered by surging sales of its recently debuted Farapulse pulse field ablation system, which the company received U.S. FDA approval for in Janua.
Abbott Laboratories landed CE mark for two versions of its Assert-IQ insertable cardiac monitor (ICM), one with a three-year battery life, the other lasting six years. Designed for long-term remote monitoring of individuals with abnormal heartbeats or at risk of developing arrhythmias, the device helps detect often-fleeting irregularities in heart rhythm to assist in diagnosis and care management.
Affluent Medical SA said that its artificial sphincter, Artus, which treats stress urinary incontinence, was successfully implanted into the first patient. The company hopes that the device, which is the first artificial urinary sphincter that can be activated by the patient with a remote control, will be able to improve the quality of life of the millions of people suffering from urinary incontinence.
Haemonetics Corp. appears ready to make a bit of a retro investment, as it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Advanced Cooling Therapy Inc. (dba Attune Medical) for $160 million at closing plus undisclosed additional contingent payments. Attune manufactures the U.S. FDA-cleared Ensoetm device, which cools the esophagus during radiofrequency cardiac ablation procedures, a treatment for atrial fibrillation whose days appeared numbered.
Medtronic plc and Irvine, Calif.-based Axonics Inc. have been locked in a struggle over several patents in the past few years, but now Medtronic has shifted some of its effort from the U.S. courts to the executive branch.
On March 1, Boston Scientific Corp.’s Agent drug-coated balloon (DCB) became the first DCB to gain U.S. FDA approval for treatment of in-stent restenosis in patients with coronary artery disease. With more than 100,000 patients already treated in Europe, Latin America and Japan, it’s no secret Agent provides significant benefit compared to balloon angioplasty or drug-eluting stents (DES) for the approximately 10% of patients with coronary stents who experience subsequent narrowing of the treated vessel.
