June 2007 Issues

EuroPCR

Summary: DES penetration and overall stent volume are holding fairly steady in Europe . DES use in Europe and Japan were largely unaffected by the COURAGE trial results. ♦ Abbott’s Xience is picking up market share in Europe faster than Medtronic’s Endeavor, but both are gaining slowly. ♦ Johnson & Johnson/Conor’s CoStar was a disaster almost across the board, but J&J is not giving up on the reservoir program. ♦ Experts and competitors expect Medtronic’s ENDEAVOR-IV trial to be positive, but the FDA wants to see that data and take it to a panel, probably in the fall, before approving Endeavor. ♦ Percutaneous valves were the hot topic at PCR , but training and adoption – and perhaps enrollment in the surgical arms of U.S. trials – are likely to move slowly. Experts believe the procedure should be restricted to Centers of Excellence for the foreseeable future, with 30-100 procedures a year done at each center. Both CoreValve and Edwards LifeSciences are expected to succeed.