Edwards' Winning Heart Valve Strategy

Executive Summary

Edwards Lifesciences' strategy of divesting slow-growing businesses and focusing on the relatively underserved niche of late-stage (or what the company now calls advancing stage) cardiovascular disease appears to be paying off. Now the leader in the heart valve market, the company believes that the pressures cardiac surgeons are feeling, coupled with the introduction of devices like drug-eluting stents, might open up new opportunities as surgeons turn to other ways to add value to the treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease.