St. Jude Medical, Inc. (STJ) recently received regulatory and reimbursement approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for its Brio deep brain stimulation (DBS) system for treating the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
The Brio deep brain stimulation system is the smallest, longest-lasting rechargeable DBS system in the world. The device has a 10-year battery life, which is considered to be the longest of any rechargeable DBS device presently available in the market.
St. Jude also received reimbursement authorization for its Libra and LibraXP non-rechargeable DBS systems. These devices had earlier received regulatory approval from the TGA for marketing in Australia in 2009.
Deep brain stimulation is a therapy that treats Parkinson’s disease by sending mild electrical pulses from an implanted device to specific target areas in the brain. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative movement disorder that reduces a person’s control over his movements. It is estimated that Parkinson’s disease affects roughly 6.3 million people in the world.
The Brio deep brain stimulator, also known as the Brio neurostimulator, has the greatest implant depth of any rechargeable DBS device currently available in the market. The device’s thin profile and greatest implant depth make it less noticeable and more comfortable for patients. This also provides physicians flexibility in selecting the implant location.
We believe that St. Jude’s deep brain stimulators will be highly accepted by neuro surgeons as a result of their enhanced features. This will boost sales of these products which will in-turn cater to the company’s top-line growth. St. Jude Medical is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of medical devices used for treating cardiovascular and neurological conditions.
St. Jude Medical is a leader in the mechanical heart valve market. Its mechanical heart valves have been implanted in over 1.8 million patients worldwide.
St. Jude’s closest competitors are Medtronic Inc. (MDT) and Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX).
Currently, we have a ‘Neutral’ recommendation on St. Jude Medical.
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