The U.S. FDA’s device center hasn’t issued news bulletins or guidances in the past week, but the march of device recalls continues apace in the month of February.
As pulsed field ablation transformed the electrophysiology market over the last year, Boston Scientific Corp. emerged as the biggest winner by far. In its fourth quarter earnings call on Wednesday, the company quantified just how successful its Farapulse PFA system has been.
Concluding a two-year journey, Baxter International Inc.’s kidney care unit finally separated from the company and started a new life as Vantive, following the closing on Jan. 31 of its $3.8 billion sale to the Carlyle Group Inc.
A pair of investor calls on Jan. 22 added clarity to the rapidly evolving cardiac ablation market with Abbott Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson providing updates on their pulsed field ablation programs. Both outlined challenges in the U.S. market that continue to place them at a disadvantage compared to current market leaders Boston Scientific Corp. and Medtronic plc, though bright spots also shone through.
Medtronic plc’s next-generation pill-sized camera saw its first use in a recent appointment, during which it captured thousands of high-definition images of the small bowel mucosa. The company hopes that the new Pillcam Genius SB Kit will transform small bowel diagnostics, as it provides clearer imaging, and greater accessibility and ease for both patients and clinicians.
The sedate uptake of pulsed field ablation (PFA) in Europe failed to presage the enthusiasm that drove the technology’s extraordinarily rapid adoption in the U.S. in 2024. Used to treat atrial fibrillation, PFA received its first U.S. FDA approval in Dec. 2023. At the time, Clarivate estimated that PFA had 7% of the global cardiac ablation market. By year-end 2024, it had 20% and Boston Scientific Corp. projected that PFA would represent up to half of the market by the close of 2025.
U.S. Medicare coverage of renal denervation (RDN) for uncontrolled hypertension may soon be a fact of life if the manufacturers of these systems have their way. CMS opened a national coverage analysis for RDN, but as is routine practice recently, the agency is asking for comment before posting even a draft coverage memo for this technology.
Medtronic plc secured CE mark approval under the EU Medical Device Regulation for its Brainsense adaptive deep brain stimulation system. The technology represents a major advancement in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease as it provides real-time, self-adjusting brain stimulation based on the patient’s brain activity, offering a more personalized therapy.
Timing is everything. Just days after confirming a pause in the U.S. rollout of its Varipulse pulsed field ablation (PFA) catheter, Johnson & Johnson’s electrophysiology program received an epic reprieve from European regulators who granted the company’s dual-energy Thermacool Smarttouch SF catheter CE mark.
Johnson & Johnson halted the limited rollout of its Varipulse pulsed field ablation system on Jan. 5 to “investigate the root causes of four reported neurovascular events in the U.S. external evaluation.” So far, just 130 cases have been completed in the U.S. since the company received U.S. FDA approval in November for use in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
