Report: A-fib market could reach $4.1B by 2015

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most commonly occurring cardiac arrhythmia and diagnostics account for a majority of the AF market, soaking up 25 percent. By 2015, the global AF market is estimated to reach $4.1 billion, according to a report conducted by Global Industry Analysts.

AF can lead to serious cardiovascular complications. Consequently, there has been an uptick in the therapeutic treatment choices including anticoagulants, catheter ablation, implantable devices, cardioversion and surgical ablation. These therapies have spawned the AF-related market growth.

The ablation catheter market alone is estimated to cap a compound annual growth rate of 13 percent. Upcoming steerable diagnostic EP catheters equipped with mapping technology will add to higher price tags compared to non-mapping catheters.

Because AF increases the risk of stroke five-fold, anticoagulant drug development — Pradaxa/Rendix (Boehringer Ingelheim), Apixaban (Birstol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer), Xarelto (Bayer/Johnson & Johnson)—will continue to rise by 2015.

Sanofi-aventis’ antiarrhythmic drug dronedarone (Multaq), in combination with the aforementioned anticoagulants, is expected to be a key player in the predicted market costs.

The report, “Atrial Fibrillation: A Global Strategic Business Report,” profiles 34 device and pharmaceutical companies.