Santa Rosa stent a hit for Medtronic
On the market just 2 weeks, Endeavor device could lift company's profits
Published: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 3:29 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 5:42 a.m.
Medtronic's Endeavor coronary stent has been on the U.S. market for barely two weeks, but the artery-opening technology developed in Sonoma County is already a hit.
"It's still too early to discuss results, but customer reaction has been extremely positive," Medtronic CEO Bill Hawkins told Wall Street analysts Tuesday. "Physicians are telling us Endeavor is the most deliverable stent on the market."
The next-generation medical device was developed in Santa Rosa, headquarters of Medtronic's vascular business.
A stent is a tiny wire mesh tube used to treat coronary artery disease, the nation's leading cause of death. It is implanted in a patient's artery to keep blood flowing after a plaque-clearing procedure called angioplasty. A physician delivers the stent to the affected artery using a catheter.
Endeavor has a drug coating that keeps arteries from re-clogging. It's safer and easier to implant than the other two drug-coated stents on the U.S. market, according to Medtronic.
Endeavor could capture 20 percent of the $2 billion annual U.S. market for such technology, industry analysts have said.
"Physicians are genuinely excited to have a safer and more deliverable alternative for their patients," Hawkins said.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the medical device Feb. 1 and Medtronic began selling it in the United States three days later. The stent has been sold overseas since 2005.
U.S. sales of Endeavor weren't included in the results for Medtronic's third quarter, which ended Jan. 25. But the device should have an impact on fourth-quarter results, Hawkins said.
"It's a $2 billion market here in the U.S. and we had zero position until Feb. 1," he said. "If you look at what we've done outside the U.S., we've been able to garner in excess of 20 percent."
Medtronic, which has about 1,200 employees in Santa Rosa, spent five years developing and testing the new technology. The company submitted data from clinical trials involving 4,000 patients. The Endeavor stent is manufactured at a Medtronic facility in Galway, Ireland.
Medtronic posted a 12 percent hike in third-quarter revenue Tuesday but saw profits fall sharply on legal settlements and acquisition costs.
The earnings slide reflected charges from legal settlements in a patent and product recall case. Medtronic's acquisition of spinal implant maker Kyphon Inc. also affected profits.
The coronary stent business recorded sales of $157 million, 6 percent above the same period a year ago.
Minneapolis-based Medtronic is the world's largest medical device maker, with products ranging from pacemakers and implantable defibrillators to spinal, neurostimulation and diabetes therapies.
Companywide, Medtronic posted third-quarter sales of $3.4 billion, up from $3 billion a year ago. Earnings were $77 million or 7 cents per share, compared to $710 million or 61 cents in 2007.
But adjusted profits of $713 million or 63 cents per share beat Wall Street forecasts by 2 cents a share.
Medtronic stock closed Tuesday at $49.15, up 3 cents a share on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Steve Hart at 521-5205 or steve.hart@pressdemocrat.com.
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