ARTICLE SUMMARY:
The renal denervation market flamed out in 2014, after four years of breakneck activity. But a resurrection of sorts is now underway, led by Medtronic and ReCor Medical. We explore the prospects for a near-term renal denervation revival and what that would mean for the medtech industry and the global hypertension community.
Several notable studies on renal denervation (RDN) were presented at this year’s American College of Cardiology (ACC) and EuroPCR meetings, and the findings add to a growing body of evidence on the safety and efficacy of this once maligned device-based treatment for uncontrolled hypertension. Medtronic plc, with its Symplicity Spyral multielectrode radiofrequency RDN system, and ReCor Medical Inc., with its Paradise ultrasound RDN system, are leading the nearly decade-long effort to remake the RDN market after Medtronic’s first-generation Symplicity system famously failed a sham-controlled trial back in 2014. Both are now moving closer to US market approval (they are already CE marked in Europe); however, broad market acceptance is still far from certain. Although the clinical evidence may have reached a positive tipping point, and the potential market opportunity is vast, many questions remain about who should be offered RDN and where it fits best on the continuum of care, or whether it fits at all.
