Edwards Lifesciences SAPIEN 3 Heart Valve Data Positive

A leading player in the field of structural heart disease and critical care monitoring, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) recently unveiled positive one-year data on its SAPIEN 3 transcatheter heart valve. Based on results from 1,946 patients, the data has been gathered from a large European post-approval study on the device.

The outcome demonstrated high survival rates and low rates of stroke and paravalvular leak. Over the year, patients treated via the transfemoral access route had a survival rate of as high as 88.2%, with a very low disabling stroke rate of 1.1%. Moreover, these patients did not experience any major paravalvular leak or a leak of as low as 2.7%.

The Edwards SAPIEN 3 valve has been available in Europe since 2014. The latest outcome will help the company strengthen its SAPIEN 3 valve business in Europe and also expand its footprint in the growing tissue heart valves market.

According to Future Market Insights, the TAVR (transcatheter heart valve replacement) market is under penetrated and has huge growth potential. It is expected to witness double-digit CAGR growth in the 2015–2025 period. Thus, the latest positive outcome on Sapien 3 is expected to bolster the position of the company further in this market.

Meanwhile, according to Markets and Markets, the global medical equipment maintenance market (remote monitoring & maintenance) is expected to reach a worth of $2,242.0 million by 2020 from $1,034.2 million in 2015, growing at a CAGR of 16.7%. We are impressed by the company’s strategic moves to gain traction in the market.

For the past one month, Edwards Lifesciences has been trading above the Zacks categorized Medical - Instrumentsindustry. The stock has gained 19.99%, much higher than the industry’s increase of 8.22%.

Recent Launches

The company plans to launch CENTERA system later in 2017, following the receipt of CE mark. The new ultra system, including an on-balloon delivery system and next-generation sheath technology, will be available in Europe in the second half of this year.

The company also intends to launch INSPIRIS RESILIA aortic valve in Europe and Japan later this year. Edwards Lifesciences is continuously trying to expand its footprint in the international market.

In the second half of this year, the company expects to launch the Acumen HPI software suite with the new FloTrac IQ Smart Disposable System. The device warns physicians of low blood pressure or probability of hypotension in patients.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Edwards Lifesciences carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). A few other top-ranked medical stocks are Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) , Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) and Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) . Align Technology sports a Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy), while Baxter International and Hologic carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Align Technology gained 82.32% in the past one year, better than the S&P 500’s 17.33%. It has a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 19.56%.

Hologic gained 30.50% in the last one year, in comparison to the S&P 500 mark. The company has a stellar four-quarter average earnings surprise of over 5.79%.

Baxter International rose around 27.71% in the last one year, in comparison to the S&P 500. It has a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 17.14%.

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