A Wave of Success for Cambridge Heart

01 Apr 2006

For years, Cambridge Heart has been in an almost missionary mode. Since its founding in 1990, it has spent millions on R&D and sustained steady losses. But it finally looks like Cambridge Heart is well on the way to answering the two key questions for medical technology developers: clinical relevance and reimbursement. On March 21, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a national coverage decision for Cambridge Heart's Microvolt T-Wave Alternans test for patients at risk of sudden cardiac death,

For years, Cambridge Heart Inc. has been in an almost missionary mode. Since its founding in 1990, it has spent millions on R&D, conducting myriad large clinical trials to validate the predictive value and clinical relevance of its novel diagnostic for sudden cardiac death, a disease that kills 300,000 to 400,000 in the US each year. With steady losses—most recently, a $2.9 million loss on 2005 revenues of $4.2 million--its stock languished below $1 for two years. Few analysts even covered the microcap. Lately, however, the stock has enjoyed a meteoric rise—to the $2-$3 range--because Cambridge Heart is finally well on the way to answering the two key questions for medical technology developers: clinical relevance and reimbursement.

On March 21, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a national coverage decision for Cambridge Heart's...