The FDA today approved the Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator (S-ICD) system from Cameron Health. The device is the first ICD that does not require a lead that connects directly to the heart and therefore does not need to be guided with x-ray fluoroscopy. Instead, the S-ICD lead is implanted along the bottom of the rib cage and breast bone.
The S-ICD System has been approved only for patients who do not also require a pacemaker or pacing therapy. The FDA will require Cameron Health to perform a 5-year postmarketing study with 1,616 patients to measure the long-term safety and efficacy of the device and to test whether the device is equally effective in men and women.
“The S-ICD System provides an alternative for treating patients with life-threatening heart arrhythmias for whom the routine ICD placement procedure is not ideal,” said Christy Foreman, director of the Office of Device Evaluation at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, in a press release. “Some patients with anatomy that makes it challenging to place one of the implantable defibrillators currently on the market may especially benefit from this device.”
In April, the FDA’s Circulatory System Devices panel voted 7-1 that the benefits of the S-ICD outweigh the risks in appropriately selected patients. Approval was based on the pivotal 321-patient study in which 304 patients successfully received the S-ICD. During the six month followup period the device detected 78 arrhythmias in 21 patients. According to the FDA analysis, all the arrhythmias were terminated by the device or resolved spontaneously. Common complications of the device include inappropriate shocks, discomfort, system infection, and electrode movement.
Earlier this year Boston Scientific acquired Cameron Health for an initial payment of $150 million. Depending on future performance, the price may reach as much as $1.2 billion.
Rick Lange, who served on the FDA’s Circulatory System Devices advisory panel that reviewed the S-ICD, provided the following comment:
This will be a niche device…..it will have a limited role because it’s not suitable for patients who also need or would benefit from pacing therapy. However, it may be particularly suitable for primary prevention of SCD in children or young adults (i.e. those with HOCM, long QT, RV dysplasia, Brugada syndrome, family history of SCD, etc) where intravascular lead placement is not attractive because of continued growth of the child or concerns about long term lead complications. The FDA panel was insistent that a post marketing study be performed to ensure that the device appropriately sensed and treated lethal arrhythmias. Early versions of the sensing algorithm needed tweaking.
Here are the press releases from the FDA and Boston Scientific:
FDA approves first subcutaneous heart defibrillator
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a heart defibrillator that helps to restore regular heart rhythms with leads that can be implanted just under the skin (subcutaneously) instead of connected directly into the heart.
An implantable defibrillator is a small battery-powered device that constantly monitors a person’s heart rhythm and can deliver a therapeutic dose of electricity to restore the rhythm when it senses the heart is beating dangerously fast (tachycardia) or chaotically (sudden cardiac arrest).
Other implantable defibrillators on the market require a physician to insert one or more electrical conductor wires, called “leads,” into a vein in the upper chest and guide them into the patient’s heart. X-ray fluoroscopy, a real-time imaging method, helps the physician to visualize the heart and blood vessels to guide the leads to the correct position.
The Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator (S-ICD) System uses a lead that is implanted just under the skin along the bottom of the rib cage and breast bone. Because the lead is placed under the skin rather than through a vein into the heart, a physician can implant the device without accessing a patient’s blood vessels or heart and without the need for fluoroscopy.
“The S-ICD System provides an alternative for treating patients with life-threatening heart arrhythmias for whom the routine ICD placement procedure is not ideal,” said Christy Foreman, director of the Office of Device Evaluation at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Some patients with anatomy that makes it challenging to place one of the implantable defibrillators currently on the market may especially benefit from this device.”
The S-ICD System is approved to provide an electric shock to the heart (defibrillation) when the patient’s heart is beating at a dangerous level or abnormally fast (ventricular tachyarrhythmias). It is approved only for patients who do not require a pacemaker or pacing therapy.
FDA has reviewed data from a 321-patient study in which 304 patients were successfully implanted with the S-ICD System. At the time of implantation, the investigator tested the effectiveness of the device by inducing heart arrhythmias. The S-ICD System was successful at converting all abnormal heart rhythms that it detected back to normal rhythms. Investigators followed these patients for six months following implantation, during which time the device detected and recorded 78 spontaneous arrhythmias in 21 patients; all arrhythmias were either successfully converted back to normal by the defibrillator or resolved on their own. Because the S-ICD System memory stores data from only the 22 most recent arrhythmia episodes, there may have been other detected episodes that could not be analyzed by investigators.
FDA reviewed safety data based on the entire 321-patient study population to identify complications that can occur during and after implantation of the S-ICD System. The most common complications included inappropriate shocks, discomfort, system infection, and electrode movement, which required repositioning. Eight patients died during the study; however, experts (who were not involved with the study) could not definitively attribute the deaths to the S-ICD System. Eleven patients required the removal of the device, and 18 had discomfort that was resolved without repositioning the device or surgery. At the end of six months, more than 90 percent of patients had no complications.
As part of the approval, FDA is requiring the manufacturing company to conduct a postmarket study to assess the long-term safety and performance of the device and to assess differences in effectiveness across genders. The study will follow 1,616 patients for five years.
The S-ICD System is manufactured by Cameron Health Inc. of San Clemente, Calif.
For more information:
FDA: Medical Devices
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.
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BOSTON SCIENTIFIC RECEIVES FDA APPROVAL OF FIRST-IN-CLASS S-ICD® SYSTEM FOR PATIENTS AT RISK OF SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST
S-ICD System is the World’s First and Only Commercially Available Completely Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator
Natick, Mass. (September 28, 2012) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) regulatory approval for its S-ICD® System, the world’s first and only commercially available subcutaneous implantable defibrillator (S-ICD) for the treatment of patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). The S-ICD System sits entirely just below the skin without the need for thin, insulated wires — known as electrodes or ‘leads’ — to be placed into the heart. This leaves the heart and blood vessels untouched, offering patients an alternative to transvenous implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), which require leads to be placed in the heart itself.
“The S-ICD System establishes the first new category of cardiac rhythm management devices since the introduction of cardiac resynchronization therapy,” said Raul Weiss, M.D., Associate Professor-Clinical, Cardiovascular Medicine at The Ohio State University. “Doctors now have a breakthrough treatment option that provides protection from sudden cardiac arrest without touching the heart.”
Approval of the S-ICD System was based on data from a 330-patient, prospective, non-randomized, multicenter clinical study, which evaluated the safety and effectiveness of the system in patients at risk of SCA. The S-ICD System met the primary endpoints of the study, and results were presented earlier this year at the Heart Rhythm Society 33rd Annual Scientific Sessions. The study results support that the S-ICD System is an important new treatment option for a wide range of primary and secondary prevention patients.
“With the addition of the S-ICD System, we believe Boston Scientific has a compelling and highly differentiated portfolio that will help fuel our growth strategy,” said Hank Kucheman, chief executive officer, Boston Scientific. “We are the only company to offer an FDA-approved subcutaneous implantable defibrillator and expect this to be the case for several years. The S-ICD System, coupled with our numerous recent regulatory approvals and our other innovative products, such as the WATCHMAN® Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device and Alair® Bronchial Thermoplasty System for the treatment of severe asthma, demonstrates our continued commitment to developing and bringing to market innovative products for physicians and their patients.”
Sudden cardiac arrest is an abrupt loss of heart function. Most episodes are caused by the rapid and/or chaotic activity of the heart known as ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Recent estimates show that approximately 850,000 people in the United States are at risk of SCA and indicated for an ICD device, but remain unprotected.
“Each year, thousands of patients indicated for an ICD are not referred to a specialist and remain untreated,” said William T. Abraham, MD, FACC, Director, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Ohio State University Heart Center. “The S-ICD System is an important new treatment option that has the potential to improve patient acceptance of ICD therapy.”
The S-ICD System is designed to provide the same protection from sudden cardiac arrest as transvenous ICDs. The system has two main components: (1) the pulse generator, which powers the system, monitors heart activity, and delivers a shock if needed, and (2) the electrode, which enables the device to sense the cardiac rhythm and deliver shocks when necessary. Both components are implanted just under the skin—the generator at the side of the chest, and the electrode beside the breastbone. Unlike transvenous ICDs, the heart and blood vessels remain untouched. Implantation with the S-ICD System is straightforward using anatomical landmarks, without the need for fluoroscopy (an x-ray procedure that makes it possible to see internal organs in motion). Fluoroscopy is required for implanting the leads attached to transvenous ICD systems.
Boston Scientific expects to begin a phased launch of the S-ICD System that will expand over time as medical professionals are trained on the safe and effective use of the system. The company acquired the S-ICD System earlier this year when it completed the acquisition of Cameron Health, Inc. The S-ICD System received CE Mark in 2009 and is commercially available in many countries in Europe as well as in New Zealand. To date, more than 1,400 devices have been implanted in patients around the world. To download a high-resolution image of the S-ICD System go to:http://bostonscientific.mediaroom.com/home.
The S-ICD System is intended to provide defibrillation therapy for the treatment of life-threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmias in patients who do not have symptomatic bradycardia, incessant ventricular tachycardia, or spontaneous, frequently recurring ventricular tachycardia that is reliably terminated with anti-tachycardia pacing.
The WATCHMAN device is an investigational device in the United States. It is limited by applicable law to investigational use and not available for sale.
About Boston Scientific
Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices that are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. For more information, please visit: www.bostonscientific.com.
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This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words like “anticipate,” “expect,” “project,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “intend” and similar words. These forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and estimates using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding our business plans and growth strategy, markets for our products, regulatory approvals, the importance of the S-ICD System, our technology, clinical trials, product launches, product performance and competitive offerings. If our underlying assumptions turn out to be incorrect, or if certain risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. These factors, in some cases, have affected and in the future (together with other factors) could affect our ability to implement our business strategy and may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements expressed in this press release. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements.
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