Edwards Lifesciences Corp. said it has exercised its option to buy Innovalve Bio Medical Ltd., an early stage transcatheter mitral valve replacemen company, for $300 million in cash following its initial investment in 2017. Since that time, Edwards said Innovalve has demonstrated progress in its program with promising early clinical experience.
After snaring the U.S. FDA’s approval for the Evoque tricuspid valve device, Edwards Lifesciences Corp. petitioned the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for a national coverage determination for transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement devices.
In what undoubtedly came as a response to Medtronic plc’s recently reported Small Annuli Randomized to Evolut or SAPIEN Trial trial results that showed a decisive advantage for its Evolut transcatheter aortic valve replacement system in patients with a small aortic annulus, Edwards Lifesciences Corp. reported the results from an analysis of data from its Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valve trials of the Sapien 3 valves showing “excellent clinical outcomes and valve durability irrespective of the patient’s annulus size or sex.”
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. is selling its critical care product group to Becton Dickison and Co. (BD) for $4.2 billion in cash, forgoing its previously announced plans to spin off the unit into a separate business. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the calendar year.
Data from Meril Life Sciences Pvt Ltd.’s Landmark trial showed that its series of Myval transcatheter heart valves were non-inferior compared with Edwards Lifesciences Corp.’s Sapien BEV and Medtronic plc’s Evolut SEV devices, with regards to safety and effectiveness in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation.
The Hatch-Waxman Act provides a safe harbor that allows importation of an FDA-regulated article that would otherwise be deemed a case of patent infringement so long as the importation is for purposes reasonably related to obtaining regulatory approval. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. sued Meril Life Sciences Pvt Ltd. for importation of heart valves in a manner that Edwards argued was infringement under Hatch-Waxman, but while the Federal Circuit ruled 2-1 against Edwards, the dissenting opinion recommended an appeal to a full 12-judge panel that could reverse this outcome.
The Hatch-Waxman Act provides a safe harbor that allows importation of an FDA-regulated article that would otherwise be deemed a case of patent infringement so long as the importation is for purposes reasonably related to obtaining regulatory approval. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. sued Meril Life Sciences Pvt Ltd. for importation of heart valves in a manner that Edwards argued was infringement under Hatch-Waxman, but while the Federal Circuit ruled 2-1 against Edwards, the dissenting opinion recommended an appeal to a full 12-judge panel that could reverse this outcome.
Medtronic plc reported data from a head-to-head trial backing its Evolut TAVR system against competitor Edwards Lifesciences Corp.’s Sapien platform, and the data showed particular promise of the Evolut in patients with a small aortic annulus, which would appear to be most beneficial for women in particular.
Abbott Laboratories reported the U.S. FDA approval of a new device specifically designed for the repair of leaky tricuspid heart valves. The Triclip was granted a PMA for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation following the recent recommendation of the Circulatory System Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee for the FDA, whose vote confirmed 13 to 1, with 0 abstention that the benefits of Triclip outweighed the risks.
The Cardiovascular Research Technologies 2024 conference in Washington this week demonstrated continued positive outcomes for patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement with devices made by Abbott Laboratories, Edwards Lifesciences Corp. or Medtronic plc.
