The US interventional cardiology market will continue to exhibit weak growth in the next five years, but there will be pockets of healthy growth, such as in coronary thrombectomy devices. According to Medtech Insight’s latest report on the sector, growth to 2018 will also be supported by several other factors.

Device companies large and small have failed repeatedly in efforts to address bifurcations, which remain one of the largest unmet opportunities in cardiology. Cappella thinks it can solve the problem with a device that's a new version of an old idea, reversing current protocol to treat the side branch first.

Many device companies, large and small, have tried unsuccessfully to come up with a stent to treat bifurcated lesions, primarily by focusing on treating the main vessel. Tryton is taking a different approach: using a bare-metal device designed to treat the side branch. The company believes this contrarian strategy pairs perfectly with current drug-eluting stents, making them an ideal acquisition target for a large CV company.

Launched to develop a better stent for treating bifurcated lesions, Stentys discovered its device appears to be effective in treating a larger unmet clinical need: acute myocardial infarction. This strategy shift holds great promise, but the company must convince physicians that its self-expanding stent will succeed where others have failed, and that it is superior to traditional stents from the major cardiovascular players.