St. Jude's New Quadra Study - Analyst Blog
07 Maggio 2013 - 3:50PM
Zacks
St. Jude Medical
(STJ) has enrolled the first patient for its MultiPoint Pacing
clinical study. The study will evaluate the efficacy of the
company’s Quadripolar Pacing system belonging to the implantable
cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) product line under the larger
Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) division.
Quadripolar Pacing is becoming the new standard of care in cardiac
resynchronization therapy (CRT). MultiPoint Pacing technology
delivers pacing to multiple locations in the heart rather than the
traditional single pulse for each heartbeat. The study will analyze
the benefits of St. Jude’s one-of-a-kind Quadra Assura MP CRT-D and
Quartet lead in delivering improved hemodynamic support in patients
receiving CRT.
The MultiPoint Pacing clinical study is being conducted under an
Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). The study will enroll more than 500 patients
across 50 centers in the U.S. As per the Heart Failure Society of
America, about 5 million people in the U.S are suffering from heart
failure with roughly 400,000 to 700,000 new patients diagnosed
annually.
St. Jude Medical is the only company that offers quadripolar CRT-D
technology in the U.S. and Japan and has recently launched the
world’s first quadripolar MultiPoint Pacing technology in Europe.
This provides a competitive advantage to the company’s CRT segment
to gain market share in the ICD market.
St. Jude’s core CRM division is still underperforming. Revenues
from the CRM division fell 8% year over year in the first quarter
of 2013. The beleaguered ICD market, as reflected by sustained
implant volume pressure and the Riata/Durata lead issue, continues
to hurt CRM results. ICD sales declined 5% in the first quarter but
we believe that market trends will stabilize soon.
Additionally, the pacemaker business under CRM is currently losing
market share due to competitive pressure. Recently, the company
received CE Mark approval for its Allure Quadra Cardiac
Resynchronization Therapy Pacemaker (CRT-P). It is the world’s
first pacemaker with the quadripolar lead technology. The European
launch of this product should help STJ’s soft pacemaker business to
regain some lost market share.
St. Jude’s peer Boston Scientific (BSX) also
reported disappointing CRM sales in the first quarter of 2013,
indicating sustained softness in the CRM market.
St. Jude currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). While we remain
on the sidelines regarding STJ, medical stocks such as
Conceptus (CPTS) and Coventry Health
Care (CVH) warrant a look.
BOSTON SCIENTIF (BSX): Free Stock Analysis Report
CONCEPTUS INC (CPTS): Free Stock Analysis Report
COVENTRY HLTHCR (CVH): Free Stock Analysis Report
ST JUDE MEDICAL (STJ): Free Stock Analysis Report
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