Market Overview

Vascular plugs are new family of vascular occluding devices which can be used as an alternative to coils and detachable balloons for embolization of large to medium vessels with high resistance. These devices are self-expandable, and are generally made up of nitiol mesh wire. First vascular plug device was launched in the market by St. Jude Medical in 2004 and since then these devices are witnessing great technical and clinical success and expansion of applications. St. Jude Medical reported that since the launch of its first model of vascular plug AMPLATZER, the device has been used in over 63% of peripheral embolization procedures performed in the U.S. till 2012.

Vascular plugs devise a great substitute for costly combinations of silicon latex balloons and detachable coils required for parent artery occlusion (PAO). In context to withdrawal of detachable silicon balloons from the U.S. market, vascular plugs are expected to present tremendous growth prospects in the U.S. market.

With the continuous technological changes in embolization devices mechanical vascular plugs carry true potential for applications in peripheral embolization procedures which do not exclusively rely on thrombosis to reach desired endpoint. Some of the established brands in global vascular plugs market include AMPLATZER (AVP I, AVP II, AVP III, AVP IV, AMPLATZER PFO), MVP Micro Vascular Plug System, Cera vascular plug system, etc. among others.

The global market for vascular plugs is expected to be driven by increasing procedural count for peripheral embolization and sustaining technological advancements and new product launches in vascular plugs. Approximately 50,000 peripheral embolization procedures are performed in the U.S., every year.

Additional factors driving demand for vascular plug devices in global market can be advantages of vascular plugs over embolization coils such as decreased procedural & occlusion time, cost-effective, etc. However, safety issues related to vascular plugs and inability to perform selective embolization are the factors expected to limit growth of global market.

In recent there has been much innovation in design of vascular plugs. Medtronic Inc. launched MVP microvascular plug system in 2013, which can be delivered through micro catheter to provide rapid and complete occlusion of tiny vessels. In October 2016, St. Jude Medical obtained FDA approval for AMPLATZER PFO Occluder–a new vascular plug device of AMPLATZER family, which is intended to close atrial septal defects. Immediately after launch of AMPLATZER PFO, the device got reimbursement approval from Medicare as well as under the National Health Insurance in Taiwan. The device is approved in EU back in date 2009.

The global market for vascular plugs is segmented on basis of product type, material of construction, end user and geography:

Product Type	Arterial or Venous Closer Vascular Plugs (AVP I-IV, Hyperion, etc.) Congenital Heart Malformation Closer Vascular Plugs (AMPLATZER PFO) Micro Vascular Plug System (MPV, EOS Plug etc.)
Construction Material	Titanium-Nickel (Nitinol) Titanium-Nitride (Tin)
End User	Hospitals Ambulatory Surgical Centers Independent Catheterization Labs

Based on product type, arterial and venous closer devices segment is expected to lead the global market for vascular plugs over the forecast period. Based on end user, the global vascular plugs market has been segmented into hospitals ambulatory surgical centers and independent catheterization labs. Hospitals end user segment clearly dominates the global market for vascular plugs due to requirement of advanced healthcare infrastructure to conduct peripheral embolization procedures.

Regionally, global vascular plugs market is segmented into five key regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to lead the global market due to growing procedural count. Market in APAC region is expected to witness significant growth rate over the forecast period owing to expansion activities by key market players in the region.

Vascular plugs being relatively new devices, very few players are providing these class 3 devices in the market. Some of the players operating in global vascular plugs market are St. Jude Medical LLC, Covidien Plc. (Medtronic Inc.), Lifetech Scientific Corporation, Comed B.V., Infiniti Medical, LLC, EndoShape, Inc., ArtVentive Medical Group Inc. etc. St. Jude Medical LLC has a wide range of four vascular plug devices. A company employs unique strategy that each of its new or improved model of vascular plug device has a unique design & features for different vascular anatomies. Hence, latest models cannot be replaced for the old ones.