NEW STUFF COMING

• by SMITTY
• 2009-08-04 11:08:17
• General Posting
• 1619 views
• 1 comments

This is part of an article on pacemakers/defribillators from our local paper this morning. One sentence (marked with < >) may be of particular interest to our group as the question on this comes up from time to time.

JUMP START FOR HEART DEVICE MAKERS

Heart device makers are hoping innovations and recent clinical trials will pump up sales, leading to faster growth.

Sales of implantable devices that treat problems like heart failure, slow or fast heartbeats and irregular heart rhythms have stagnated in recent years in the wake of product recalls and other issues.

But the companies that make these products are increasingly optimistic that the devices can also help patients with less severe forms of heart disease. That would aid companies such as Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and St. Jude Medical. Medtronic estimates the total market for the implantable products is around $13 billion.

That market is under penetrated now, said Pat Mackin, who leads Medtronic's cardiac rhythm disease management business.

One device is typical. Recent studies suggest that implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), which deliver shocks to restore normal heart rhythms, can be more effective if used earlier. "You’re opening up a patent population that hasn't been opened up in five years," Mackin says.

The companies are also touting technological improvements that make the implants smaller and more precise. >>>Next year, Medtronic will start selling a pacemaker designed to be safely used in MRI machines without dangerous interference.<<< All these developments could mean good things for investors as well as for heart patients.