Acorn Cardiovascular: The Virtue of Patience

The whole area of congestive heart failure (CHF) is hot right now, particularly for medical device firms who can offer an alternative to drug therapies, which seem to have hit a wall in advancing treatment options. But Acorn Cardiovasculaar, whose device represents a surgery-based approach to reducing the size of enlarged hearts, faces a crowded device field: not only are left ventricular assist device (LVAD) manufacturers seeking to expand beyond their historic bridge-to-transplant niche, but cardiac rhythm management companies are aggressively promoting their new cardiac resynchronization therapy. Adding to Acorn's challenge: the company has had to extend its commercialization timelines as enrollment in its clinical trial took longer than company officials thought it would and it has spent considerable time building the clinical rationale for its approach. As it prepares to launch its device in the next year or so, Acorn is counting on one edge over other CHF device companies: the growing enthusiasm of surgeons for new procedures, as interventional cardiology takes over more and more of their traditional CABGs.