Medtronic's CoreValve Emerges Cost-Efficient in New Trial
Leading medical device major Medtronic Inc.'s (MDT) self-expanding CoreValve transcatheter aortic valve system recently exhibited cost efficiency in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (:TAVR) procedure, according to new data unveiled by a group of medical investigators. The data originated from the first ever in-trial cost effectiveness analysis of TAVR involving severe aortic stenosis patients, who are at high risk of surgery.
However, the news failed to stir up investor confidence as Medtronic's share prices dropped 0.4% to eventually close at $64.95 yesterday.
For this health economic study, investigators extracted data from the CoreValve U.S. Pivotal Trial's study of high risk heart patients. This unique trial is the only head-to-head study which demonstrated TAVR's primacy over conventional surgical aortic valve replacement (:SAVR) at one year. Medtronic had presented the data during a late-breaking session at Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (:TCT), 2014.
The cost-effectiveness analysis evaluated total cost for all 795 patients randomized in the High Risk Study at one-year time period. Costs included medical resource utilization for all patients, hospital bills as well as health state utilities for 1, 6 and 12 months.
Patients treated with TAVR reported improved quality of life (:QOL) over those treated with SAVR at 1-month period. However, QOL was similar for both TAVR and SAVR patients at 6-months and 1-year.
While hospital length-of-stay for TAVR patients was 8.1 days, for SAVR patients it was 12.5 days. Also, ICU time for TAVR patients was 3.1 days, lower than 4.7 days in case of SAVR patients. Moreover, 23% of TAVR patients were recommended for rehab services at discharge, while the tally was 44% for SAVR patients.
Moreover, results showed that TAVR with the CoreValve System added 0.24 life years and 0.20 quality-adjusted life years (:QALY) per patient at a lifetime incremental cost of approximately $13,700.
Per management, the release of this data makes it clear that the CoreValve System provides a higher quality of life for heart patients, who are at high risk of surgery, at a feasible cost. They are optimistic that this new self-expanding valve will also minimize the overall cost burden of the U.S. healthcare system.
Medtronic's CoreValve System was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (:FDA) in June 2014 for patients at high risk of surgery. The company has been gaining market share in the TAVR market since then. Evidently, the company has captured almost 40% of the U.S. market in just two quarters post-launch of CoreValve in the U.S. We believe the release of this new set of data on CoreValve will expedite the company's stronghold in the TAVR market in the near future.
Medtronic presently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the medical products industry include ICU Medical, Inc. (ICUI), Abaxis, Inc. (ABAX) and Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CNAT). While ICU Medical sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Abaxis and Conatus hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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