Medical device maker St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) is feeling pretty confident about public perception of its Durata defibrillator leads, which came under scrutiny amid a high-profile recall of its older Riata leads.
Sentiments during last month’s Heart Rhythm Society meeting were positive, St. Jude corporate relations vice president Rachel Ellingson said during a presentation at the 38th annual Deutsche Bank healthcare conference.
"At the booth, we had … investors, analysts and physicians coming up and talking to us about good data and congratulating us," Ellingson said. "So I think we’re feeling really good."
There has certainly been some good news for St. Jude and its cardiac rhythm management business, including the closure of a federal investigation into the recalled Riata leads.
St. Jude revealed in recent regulatory filings that a U.S. Justice Dept. probe had closed without incident or allegations of misconduct.
Shortly after, the medical device giant unveiled new clinical trial results that found 99.9% freedom from insulation abrasion for Durata, a key problem in the Riata and Riata ST leads which are coated in a different type of insulation than the Durata leads.
During the Deutsche Bank presentation, St. Jude executive vice president John Heinmiller highlighted a study that got less attention – a study conducted by the Veterans Admin. which also reported a less than 1% failure rate for patients with the Durata leads.
"This data really makes a difference," Heinmiller said. "I think our physician customers can come back to using the Durata lead to the extent they’re comfortable with, with the support of the kind of data that was discussed at this HRS meeting."
