A New St. Jude Medical Blockbuster?

Apparently, if you believe what “the street” is saying, St. Jude Medical may have hit one out of the part with its latest product offering.
 
The device, called Unify Quadra, is intended for patients suffering from heart failure. Approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a commercial launch are expected in mid-2011. An earlier version of the device already has been approved in Europe. The defibrillator market had been the “golden child” sector for companies such as St. Jude Medical, Medtronic Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp. The market, however, has flattened out during the last few years, leaving companies searching for the next blockbuster technology.
 
Cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-D) are implanted in the chest and usually connected to the heart with three wires, called leads. The device stimulates both of the heart’s lower chambers so they are “synchronized” and more efficient pumping blood to the body. The devices also are able to defibrillate the heart if a patient is at risk for a life-threatening rhythm.
 
St. Jude’s new device has four electrodes on the lead that is placed in the left ventricle, which the company says simplifies the implant procedure and minimizes post-surgery complications. Boston Scientific and Medtronic are developing similar technology but currently are months behind St. Jude with a market launch, analysts said.
 
JP Morgan analyst Micheal Weinstein called Quadra “the most important new product” in implantable defibrillators in the last nine years.
 
“Within three years, they’re likely to become the standard of care, owing to the ability to improve both the safety and efficacy of [CRT-D] implantation,” Weinstein wrote in a note to investors, citing a survey conducted by the brokerage firm. According to the pooll, 82 percent of electro-physiologists expect St. Jude to take market share from rivals Boston Scientific Corp. and Medtronic Inc. Weinstein also surveyed 50 cardiologists—92 percent of whom said they expect the type of lead system in the Quadra system to become the standard of care in cardiology.