Spectranetics looking to new market

Spectranetics Corp. is hoping to tap a potential $100 million-a-year market in a new clinical trial started earlier this month.
The trial that uses its medical laser to clear clogged stents in upper-leg arteries and then inserts a plastic-lined stent made by W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. to prevent new blockages. The patients were treated by Dr. Eric Dippel at Midwest Cardiovascular Research in Davenport, Iowa.
Spectranetics Chief Executive John Schulte said last week that the company hopes to sign up 100 patients in the trial by year’s end and gain federal approval for the new therapy. Schulte estimates about 50,000 patients a year could benefit from the therapy.
“It is a big market opportunity. Physicians are looking for a new mechanism for these types of patients,” Schulte said.
The potential new market would be good news for investors, shocked earlier this month when the company’s stock dropped 30 percent after it missed analysts’ fourth-quarter earnings forecasts by 2 cents a share.