Rival medical device makers St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) and Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) each touted clinical advances this week.
On St. Jude’s part the news was the first use of its renal denervation catheter to treat high blood pressure in a feasibility study. St. Paul, Minn.-based St. Jude said it’s pegged its hopes to a “limited market launch” in Europe by the end of next year.
It’s a race between STJ and cross-town rival Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) to get a renal denervation device to the U.S. market. The procedure is used to treat high blood pressure by using a catheter to ablate the nerves lining the renal arteries.
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St. Jude has said it hopes to submit an application for an investigational device exemption to the FDA next year.
Medtronic won FDA clearance in July for a study of its version in 60 U.S. medical centers, part of its move to leverage an $800 million acquisition of Ardian and its Simplicity renal denervation system.
For Boston Scientific, the news was enrolling the last patient in a trial of its Wallflex biliary stent for treating benign bile duct strictures. BSX signed 187 patients worldwide onto the study, which will evaluate subjects with narrowed or obstructed bile ducts who’ve already undergone a serious bariatric operation such as a liver transplant or gall bladder removal.
The Wallflex RX won 510(k) clearance from the Food & Drug Administration and CE Mark approval in the European Union two years ago.
