Dear Colleagues,

St. Jude Medical recently announced the acquisition of Nanostim, Inc., the company that developed the world’s first commercially available leadless pacemaker. The device recently received CE Mark approval and is now available in select European markets. This acquisition is the culmination of our long-standing partnership with Nanostim, as a strategic investor and collaborator in its product development and commercialization efforts.

The Nanostim™ leadless pacemaker is changing the future of cardiac pacing. Unlike conventional pacemakers, the Nanostim device requires no surgery, as it is small enough (less than 10 percent the size of a typical pacemaker) to be implanted via a catheter approach through the femoral vein and be completely contained within the heart’s right ventricle.

This less invasive approach eliminates the need for a lead from the device to the heart and requires no pocket under the skin to hold the pacemaker, eliminating the potential for lead and pocket complications and patient-related restrictions.

The Nanostim leadless pacemaker comes with the same St. Jude Medical 10-year warranty found on our traditional single chamber pacemakers.

For the past 40 years the therapeutic promise of leadless pacing has been discussed, but until now, no one has been able to overcome the technical challenges. Today, St. Jude Medical, the company that delivered the world’s first cardiac pacemaker in 1958, is once again demonstrating how we transform challenges into revolutionary healthcare solutions.

To learn more, please visit www.leadlesspacing.com.

Sincerely,
Eric S. Fain, M.D., President, Implantable Electronic Systems Division