Medtronic (MDT) RESOLUTE ONYX Meets Primary Study Endpoint

One of the world’s largest medical technology, services and solutions companies, Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) recently announced favorable outcome on its Resolute Onyx Drug-Eluting Stent (DES). In a late-breaking trial session at the EuroPCR, the company revealed that Resolute Onyx DES met its primary endpoint of Target Lesion Failure (TLF) at the end of one year on 101 patients with coronary artery disease in extra-small vessels.

Resolute Onyx DES addresses the clinical challenge of treating coronary disease in extremely small arteries with lesions located in difficult-to-reach areas of the heart with greater restenosis rates. The trial results show that at the end of a year, the Resolute Onyx 2.0 mm DES, which is designed for extra-small vessels, derives better clinical outcome than for a pre-specified performance goal with patients experiencing significantly low rates of TLF.

Notably, Resolute Onyx is the first and only DES to feature Core Wire Technology, an advanced form of Continuous Sinusoid Technology (CST) which enables greater deliverability and conformability to vessel walls. Also, the Resolute Onyx DES received approval from the FDA in Apr 2017. It also received CE Mark earlier.

With the device meeting the primary endpoint of TLF at the end of one year, we can expect the company to bolster its position in the growing market of Coronary and Renal Denervation business banking on Resolute Onyx.

The company is currently working on gaining traction in the domestic as well as global market. According to medgadget, the global renal denervation market is expected to witness a CAGR of 11.82% during the 2016–2020 period.

In this regard we note that, for the past three months, Medtronic has been trading above the Zacks categorized Medical - Products industry. The stock has gained 4.5%, higher than the industry’s increase of 4.1%.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Medtronic carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked medical stocks include Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) , Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) and Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) . Align Technology sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Baxter International and Hologic carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Align Technology gained 77.8% in the past one year, better than the S&P 500’s 14.8%. It has a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 19.89%.

Hologic gained 29.2% in the last one year, in comparison to the S&P 500 mark. The company has a stellar four-quarter average earnings surprise of over 5.79%.

Baxter International rose around 33.0% in the last one year, in comparison to the S&P 500. It has a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 17.14%.

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