Leading healthcare, consumer lifestyle and lighting company, Koninklijke Philips N.V PHG has confirmed that its business unit Volcano has received the CE mark for the iFR Scout pullback software. This particular business division of the company specializes in intravascular imaging for coronary and peripheral applications.
Following the acknowledgement, the software will be immediately released in limited markets over the chief medical centers of Europe and Japan. However, the software has still not managed to make its debut in the U.S. market, as its 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) is still pending.
The highly advanced iFR Scout pullback software is well equipped to assess serial lesions and diffuse coronary disease. An extension of the iFR modality, it possesses relatively constant resting flow and greater stability, thus improving the output quality by making it more predictable. These attributes will enhance the software’s appeal for physicians, enabling them to perform pullback without administering any hyperemic agents that cause heart stress in patients.
Philips expects that the software will enhance adoption of physiological vessel mapping that will ultimately facilitate customized treatment of patients suffering from multiple coronary stenoses. Management remains bullish regarding the increasing popularity of the iFR Modality, which has already been activated in 2,000 systems globally. The iFR scout pullback, leveraging physiology-based treatment, is likely to revolutionize the treatment of critical heart conditions by making coronary physiology quicker and simpler.
Philip’s decision of entering into a $1.2-billion merger agreement with Volcano in Dec 2014 has been a prudent move, considering that the deal is presently helping it deliver innovative diagnostics and therapies in the coronary and peripheral markets. Set to penetrate the European and Japanese markets, Philip’s latest software is likely to explore the U.S. markets once it receives the FDA approval. This will drive significant top-line growth, going forward. Given the superiority of physiology-guided treatment over conventional angiography, Philips’ management has all the reasons to hope for both top- and bottom-line improvement.
Phillips currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Better-ranked stocks in the sector include Universal Electronics Inc. UEIC, Electromed, Inc. ELMD and Whirlpool Corp. WHR. All three stocks hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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