Even in the face of a second wave of COVID-19, transcatheter heart valve markets will perform strongly in the coming months due to the growing urgency of related surgeries, a push for continued innovation, and the benefit that these devices usually only require a short hospital stay, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Ashley Young, Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “During the worst months of the pandemic, the markets that suffered the most were those that relied heavily on elective procedures. Within the cardiovascular space, implantable loop recorders (ILRs) was one area that saw a steep decline – 60% drop in March compared to January 2020 – due to the elective nature of the related surgeries.”

Valve implantation and repair markets also experienced a pandemic-related dip due to procedures being delayed. Some valve conditions are known to require less urgent treatment, and, as such, their treatment was postponed. Specifically, US transcatheter heart valve markets – including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) – experienced an approximate 30% dip in market value in March compared to January, 2020.

Young notes: “However, the urgency of delayed procedures from March and April will now be much higher, and hospitals will need to prioritize these – with transcatheter procedures likely continuing to be the treatment of choice. Transcatheter procedures were already gaining a huge following before the pandemic due to the fact that they require a shorter hospital stay and can be used to treat elderly patients who would otherwise be ineligible for surgery. This is especially useful during the pandemic, since shortening hospital stays has been a top priority among healthcare practitioners.”

In addition, manufacturers are still pushing the market forward by seeking regulatory approval for new and upgraded devices. For instance, on 21 September, Abbott Laboratories announced that the company had received a CE mark approval for its fourth-generation MitraClip system – a device used in TMVR procedures. This will provide more options for TMVR treatment in Europe.