EARLY TAVR – There is no advantage to wait!

The positive outcome from the EARLY TAVR trial represents a significant step forward in clinical practice treating severe aortic stenosis. To intervene early with Edwards Lifesciences’ flagship Sapien valve, regardless of whether patients have symptoms (e.g. fatigue, shortness of breath) or not can significantly reduce hospitalisation. As shown in the results graph below, treatment arm (blue line) shows significant benefit over control arm (red line) from early on throughout to 60 months. The outcome will likely lead to a change of clinical guideline which recommends how severe aortic stenosis should be treated in real world. This will help to expand the market of Edwards Lifesciences’ transcatheter valve business which stands at $4bn annual sales today. Furthermore, the results will facilitate adoption of Edwards Lifesciences’ products over competitor. Edwards Lifesciences is a core holding of our Bellevue Medtech & Services strategy.