Boston Scientific Fortifies Pain Therapy Arm With FDA Nod

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) is hitting headlines with successive new developments, the latest feat being the company’s Spectra WaveWriter Spinal Cord Stimulator System (SCS) getting an FDA nod. Per Boston Scientific, this is the only FDA-approved SCS system to provide paresthesia-based and sub-perception therapies.

Notably, SCS technology sends low electrical pulses in varied frequency, pulse width and amplitude to the spinal cord to interrupt pain signals. While paresthesia-based therapy provides pain relief with a light tingling sensation, sub-perception therapy works without it.

The company claims that the latest Spectra WaveWriter System effectively enables physicians and patients to combine therapeutic options, customize therapy as well as capture real-time feedback to treat chronic and debilitating pain plus address each individual's distinctive pain-relief needs.

With Spectra WaveWriter System at its disposal, Boston Scientific views that patients can easily combine both paresthesia-based and sub-perception therapies to target one specific area of pain. Or else, they may pick a particular therapy required to best manage the multiple areas of pain. Additionally, patients can provide a real-time feedback using the system's remote control.

Per data provided by Transparency Market Research, the global pain management therapeutics market is expected to witness a CAGR of 3.7% from 2016 to 2024. Accordingly, the market is anticipated to rise from $60.2 billion in 2015 to $83 billion by 2024. This promising data makes us confident about the growing acceptance of Boston Scientific’s Spectra WaveWriter Spinal Cord Stimulator System.

The company noted that more than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, thus making it the prime cause of disability in adults in the United States. The company’s commitment to invest in research as well as expanding treatment options for chronic pain by identifying new, non-opioid solutions like the SCS appears to be perfectly strategic.

Share Price Movement

Boston Scientific has been outperforming the broader industry over the past 30 days. The stock has rallied 6.6% compared with the broader industry's 3.4% gain.

Key Picks

Boston Scientific carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) , Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) and Molina Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:MOH) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Bio-Rad has a whopping expected growth rate of 141.5% for the first quarter of 2018. The stock has jumped 35%, surpassing the broader industry over a year.

Centene has an expected long-term growth rate of 14%. The stock’s performance on the bourses has been solid in a year’s time with a high return of 70.4%.

For 2018, Molina Healthcare has a solid projected growth rate of 178.6%. In the last three months, the stock has surged 37.8%, higher than the broader industry’s rally of 17.9%.

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