The already hotly-contested high-voltage cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) device market became even more competitive at the end of June with the long-anticipated FDA approval of two systems from St. Jude Medical Inc. This newest segment of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) market has been among the fastest-growing medical device segments, probably second only to drug-eluting stents both in terms of annual growth rates and potential market size, driven largely by the prospect of using these devices prophylactically to treat congestive heart failure (CHF) patients.
For the past two years, Guidant Corp. and Medtronic Inc. have had this rapidly-growing market to themselves. CRT-D devices are now estimated to comprise 40-45% or nearly $1.9...