Abbott: Japanese Market Now Open for Sent Device

Abbott’s (ABT) XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System recently received approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) for the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). Abbott is looking to launch the product shortly.

In our opinion, the launch of XIENCE V in Japan should bring in significant incremental revenues for the company’s Vascular Product division which posted sales of $2.2 billion in 2008. Japan is the second-largest drug eluting stent market in the world after the United States. With the approval in Japan, XIENCE V will be available in every Asia-Pacific market.

We believe XIENCE V’s launch in Japan in early 2010 could potentially add another $500 million market opportunity. According to the company, about 200,000 stent procedures are performed every year in Japan.

Following the launch of XIENCE V, Abbott has become a major player in the drug-eluting stent (DES) market. XIENCE V has been taking significant domestic and international share from Boston Scientific’s (BSX) Taxus (paclitaxel-eluting system), Medtronic’s (MDT) Endeavor, and Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) Cypher (sirolimus-eluting system) drug-eluting stents.

Data on XIENCE V compared to both Taxus and Cypher shows XIENCE V to be the best available product on the market with respect to reducing rates of target revascularization, reducing rates of stent thrombosis, and providing a reduction in risk of major cardiac events (MACE) and all-cause mortality.

Abbott is currently working on a next-generation drug coated stent called XIENCE PRIME. PRIME is already available in Europe and other countries throughout Asia-Pacific and Latin America, and is currently in a large scale clinical program called SPIRIT PRIME in the U.S. If approved, PRIME could hit the U.S. market in the first half of 2012.

Abbott’s Vascular Products segment should continue posting robust growth mainly due to the strong performance of XIENCE V. We have a Neutral recommendation on Abbott.