Increasing Use of Ablation to Treat Atrial Fi...( EP Ablation Catheter Market to grow t...),Health

EP Ablation Catheter Market to grow to over $480 million by 2013, according to Millennium Research Group

WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Millennium Research Group's (MRG's) US Markets for Electrophysiology (EP) Mapping and Ablation Devices 2009 report, an increase in the number of catheter ablation procedures for treating atrial fibrillation (AF) will fuel revenues in the EP ablation catheter market over the next five years. The ablation catheter market will exhibit strong growth from 2008 to 2013, at a compound annual rate of almost 14%, exceeding $480 million by the end of 2013.

With the increased clinical attention AF is generating, market competitors are increasingly targeting their product development efforts towards designing AF-specific catheters. The pending US approval of the first AF-indicated ablation catheter is expected to be the first of many devices to earn this designation.

In November 2008, an FDA advisory panel voted to expand the label for Biosense Webster's NaviStar ThermoCool radiofrequency ablation catheter to include an indication for AF. Several other manufacturers are also pursuing AF approval for their devices. CryoCath (acquired by Medtronic in Q3 2008) and Ablation Frontiers are developing ablation catheters specifically designed for cardiac anatomy associated with AF.

"A number of leading competitors are developing therapeutic solutions for treating AF safely and effectively," says Anuk Karunaratne, Senior Analyst at MRG. "Currently, only a small percentage of patients with AF are treated with catheter ablation, but by 2013 this percentage will have tripled, and AF-indicated devices will be in a strong position to gain share of these procedures."

MRG's US Markets for Electrophysiology Mapping and Ablation Devices 2009 report provides coverage of key industry competitors, including B
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