Abiomed gains after Abbott tables HeartMate PHP program

Abiomed (NSDQ:ABMD) shares closed up more than 5% yesterday as investors reacted to reports that Abbott (NYSE:ABT) paused its HeartMate PHP program in Europe. Abbott, which acquired the Thoratec line of HeartMate cardiac assist devices when it paid $25 billion for St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) last month, reportedly advised physicians last week that it’s temporarily halting its Shield II clinical trial for the HeartMate PHP pump due to an issue with its catheter. Abbott said it “temporarily paused the HeartMate PHP Shield II IDE clinical trial as well as shipment and implantation of the device for commercial, clinical and investigative use in Europe while conducting a Field Safety Corrective Action for the HeartMate PHP catheter,” according to Leerink Partners analyst Danielle Antalffy. “This step is being taken as a precaution due to reports of a low number of clinical events associated with pump stoppage during support of high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients in both clinical and commercial uses,” the company said, as quoted by Antalffy. Abbott did not specify when the HeartMate PHP program might resume, saying only that it’s investigating the issue and will re-start once corrective actions are in place, according to the Leerink analyst. The delay extends the lead for Abiomed and its competing line of Impella pumps, prompting investors to push ABMD shares up 5.3% to a $110.50-per-share close yesterday. “As ...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Tags: Cardiac Assist Devices Clinical Trials Wall Street Beat Abbott Abiomed Inc. Source Type: news