J&J Becomes the Newest Player in the LAA Market

Johnson & Johnson MedTech has become the newest competitor in the left atrial appendage (LAA) market after acquiring Laminar.

The deal has the New Brunswick, NJ-based company doling out about $400 million to be in the crowded space, which is home to Boston Scientific’s Watchman; Abbott Laboratories’ Amplatzer, and Medtronic’s recently-launched Penditure LAA exclusion system.

J&J noted there is potential for clinical and regulatory milestones in 2024 and beyond. Santa Rosa, CA-based Laminar will be rolled into J&J’s Biosense Webster. Recently, Laminar won FDA approval for a pivotal study.

Jasmina Brooks, President, Biosense Webster, said in a release, “Laminar’s innovative approach will provide Biosense Webster the opportunity to expand our portfolio in this high growth market, complement our electrophysiology and Intracardiac Echo strengths, and deepen our presence with interventional cardiologists and electrophysiologists.”

In a research note, Marie Thibault, an analyst with BTIG, wrote, based on recent sales of Boston Scientific's Watchman franchise and Abbott’s Amulet, the U.S. endovascular LAA market is run rating at ~$1.3 billion in annual revenue. 

Thibault also pointed out the differences with Laminar’s device and other technologies in the space.

“Unlike existing endovascular devices on the market that seal the LAA, Laminar plugs it with a rotating ball and lock mechanism,” she wrote. “The implant comes in two device sizes (12mm and 16mm) and is delivered through an 18F transeptal system.”

Thibault added that the Laminar device was being studied in a U.S. early feasibility study with up to 45 patients. In a JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions journal article published this summer, results from 15 patients showed there were no safety events out to 12 months following the procedure and the patients had a successful LAA closure without a device-related thrombus confirmed with imaging at 45 days; this was stable through 12 months.