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.

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.