Medical device maker Covidien (NYSE:COV) this week announced commercial launch of its OneShot renal denervation system in markets around the world, bringing the company up to speed with some of its renal denervation rivals.
Over the next few months Covidien will roll out the device in markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to a press release. No renal denervation system has yet been approved for sale in the U.S.
Mansfield, Mass.-based Covidien faces some stiff competition in the renal denervation market, where Medtronic’s (NYSE:MDT) Symplicity system, gained through the January 2011 acquisition of Ardian, already has a head start. Medtronic is also the closest winning to FDA approval for renal denervation, with U.S. clinical trials approved in the summer of 2011.
In May 2012 St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) landed CE Mark approval and announced commercial launch for its Enlightn renal denervation system as a treatment for hypertension. St. Jude last year touted study results finding that its Enlightn renal denervation system lowered high blood pressure faster than Medtronic’s Symplicity.
Fellow medtech giant Boston Scientific’s (NYSE:BSX) also looking to stay apace in the highly competitive renal denervation market, expecting CE Mark approval and European commercial launch for its RDN system sometime this year. Boston Scientific expects to begin U.S. clinical trials in 2014.
The OneShot system, which Covidien gained through the April 2012 acquisition of Maya Medical in a deal worth up to $230 million, delivers radiofrequency energy to the nerves lining the outer wall of the renal arteries in order to help treat high blood pressure that isn’t properly controlled by drug therapy.
