Boston Scientific is likely to win Food and Drug Administration approval for a new method of treating abnormal heartbeats, analysts said Monday. BSX stock surged on news.
The company tested a method known as pulsed field ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation, or a type of abnormal heartbeat. Pulsed field ablation uses electrical pulses to selectively kill off problematic cardiac cells. So Boston Scientific compared its approach with thermal ablation, a way of using extremely cold temperatures to do the same thing.
Over a year, 73.3% of patients treated with Boston Scientific's technology had a normalized heartbeat vs. 71.3% of patients given the standard procedure. Also, the newer approach appeared to be as safe as thermal ablation.
On today's stock market, BSX stock jumped 6% and closed at 53.79.
The two procedures also appeared to have relatively similar safety profiles, with one important caveat. One patient who received pulsed field ablation died. The patient likely died due to a mistake in how the catheter was used "but not related to the delivery of pulsed field ablation," UBS analyst Danielle Antalffy said in a report to clients.
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The company contends that side effects are not unique to pulsed field ablation or thermal ablation, Antalffy said, adding that she agrees with that stance.
"In general, failed complications are extraordinarily rare, with this incident largely driven by the dynamic of operator inexperience and may become less frequent as familiarity with the device increases," Antalffy said. "Real-world usage and safety rates indicate that pulsed field ablation remains a safe procedure with over 25,000 cases conducted globally."
Antalffy kept her buy rating and 63 price target on BSX stock.
Needham analyst Mike Matson says the results set Boston Scientific up to capture significant share in the electrophysiology market. This market captures ablation technology, and also mapping systems and other technologies involving the heart's electrical systems. Further, Johnson & Johnson leads that market, by far, with 48% share, he said.
"We estimate that the worldwide electrophysiology market was $7.6 billion in 2022 and believe that it can grow to $9.4 billion in 2024," he said in his note to clients.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_AGatlin.
