Boston Scientific lifts sales outlook, notes key approval of AFib device with Minnesota ties

Boston Scientific lifted its sales outlook Wednesday as it highlighted the approval of a catheter built with Minnesota-made technology that maps the heart and treats atrial fibrillation.

Boston Scientific, a medical device company with approximately 9,400 employees in Minnesota, reported an adjusted net profit of $939 million on $4.2 billion in sales in the third quarter. That amounted to 63 cents of earnings per share on an adjusted basis, surpassing Wall Street expectations by 4 cents per share. The company’s cardiology, peripheral interventions, and electrophysiology businesses are based in the state.

Last week, Boston Scientific announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its Farawave Nav Ablation Catheter, which allows a surgeon to both map the heart and treat paroxysmal atrial fibrillation through the same catheter. Previously, physicians typically used a separate mapping catheter to examine the heart’s electrical patterns prior to treatment, the company said. In cardiac procedures, catheters are thin tube-shaped devices that can be advanced to the heart through blood vessels, allowing physicians to access the heart without open surgery.

Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, happens when the heart’s chambers quiver or beat out of sync, creating the risk of strokes and heart failure. With paroxysmal AFib, the quivering sensations come and go without warning.

The Farawave device builds on the company’s Farapulse Pulsed Field Ablation System, which includes hardware built in Minnesota. The system treats paroxysmal atrial fibrillation with electrical pulses instead of heat, which can damage heart tissue. Chief Executive Michael Mahoney said the company expects surgeons may use the Farapulse system in more than 60% of global procedures treating the irregular heart rhythm by 2026.

“Doctors are moving surprisingly quickly toward Farapulse,” Mahoney said.

The company said its cardiovascular division’s revenue grew by 24.6% on an organic basis compared to the year-ago quarter. The company’s sales of the Watchman, a cardiac device with for stroke reduction partly made in Minnesota, grew 18%, Mahoney said.

“Globally, we surpassed 500,000 patients treated with a Watchman device driven by our innovation, clinical evidence and patient awareness efforts,” Mahoney said.

Boston Scientific’s business grew more in the United States than any other region. In the quarter, the company closed on its $1.16 billion acquisition of Silk Road Medical, a Plymouth-based company that commercializes products preventing stroke in patients with carotid artery disease.

The company lifted its full-year sales-growth outlook to approximately 15% on an organic basis, from a range of 13% to 14%.

“In 2025, we will aim to outperform our markets, deliver meaningful margin improvements and grow adjusted earnings per share double digits and faster than sales towards our goal of being the highest performing large-cap med-tech company,” Chief Financial Officer Daniel Brennan said.