“It all comes down to outcomes,” said Michael Davidson, CEO of Newamsterdam Pharma Co. NV, which hailed “robust” and “consistent” data from its phase III study testing a fixed-dose combination of CETP inhibitor obicetrapib plus established anti-cholesterol drug ezetimibe, even as investors focused on a couple of findings that turned up lower than expected, sending shares of the company (NASDAQ:NAMS) down 15.5% to close Nov. 20 at $20.01.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic cardiovascular disorder with around 85% of people with HCM remaining undiagnosed. There are no treatments approved for nonobstructive HCM (nHCM) to date.

Three years after the U.S. FDA approval of Abbott Laboratories’ Amplatzer Amulet, results of its investigational device exemption trial failed to notably differentiate Abbott’s left atrial appendage occluder system from Boston Scientific Corp.’s market-dominant Watchman device beyond the ability to forego anticoagulants quickly after implantation.

Gender bias in cardiac treatment guidelines is putting women at risk because guidelines are written based on clinical trials conducted mostly in men. As previously reported in BioWorld, nearly 70% of female patients are underdiagnosed for cardiovascular disease as women are grossly under-represented in clinical trials.

Boston Scientific Corp.’s OPTION study demonstrated left atrial appendage closure with the Watchman Flx device reduced risk of stroke compared to management with direct oral anticoagulants or warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation following cardiac ablation. Results were presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2024 and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Eko Health Inc. recently won a category III CPT code for its Sensora platform for cardiovascular disease detection. While a “cat III” CPT code hasn’t traditionally excited industry, the company is convinced that payers will respond because of the massive costs associated with cardiovascular disease.

Avidity Biosciences Inc. has announced two new precision cardiology development candidates targeting rare genetic cardiomyopathies. AOC-1086 targets phospholamban (PLN) cardiomyopathy and AOC-1072 targets protein kinase AMP-activated noncatalytic subunit γ2 (PRKAG2) syndrome.

Device makers are not necessarily fond of the need to acquire Medicare coverage by picking off one Medicare administrative contractor at a time, but Cleerly Labs Inc. worked this path with gusto.

Boston Scientific Corp. resumed enrollment in the AVANT GUARD trial of the Farapulse pulse field ablation (PFA) system after a pause reported in October “to assess a few unanticipated observations.” The trial aims to expand the indications for the market-leading PFA system to include a new population, drug-naïve patients with persistent atrial fibrillation.