St. Jude Medical’s ICD with CRT technology has kept up with market competition.
St. Jude Medical (SJM) is thriving. In 2004, the St. Paul, MN–based company reported record sales of $2.3 billion. Currently, SJM is the third largest provider of cardiovascular devices. Such success comes from incredibly hard work and sometimes, according to Thomas J. Gunderson of Piper Jaffray (Minneapolis), it also takes a little bit of good fortune. “Some companies are good, and some are lucky,” says Gunderson, a device industry analyst. “St. Jude is both.” Although its cardiac resynchronization therapy device (CRT-D) was the third such implantable defibrillator introduced, he explains, SJM put out a good product and was able to benefit in the marketplace. “It’s not easy making cardio implants or any cardio devices,” he says. “You must have a good sales force, good leadership, and substance to back it up.”
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