A recent survey by Majestic Research found that half the physicians polled think negatively of Boston Scientific and are less likely to use the company's devices in the future.

The survey comes after the company voluntarily withdrew its defibrillators from the market because it did not notify the FDA of a pair of changes made to its manufacturing processes. The March 15 recall is expected to have a lasting impact on Boston Scientific, DOTmed News reported last month. The company was rejected from an expedited FDA review.

Majestic Research surveyed 70 electrophysiologists online from March 18 to March 24 and found that 56 percent of the doctors said the company's recent announcements and actions have had a negative influence on their perceptions of the overall quality of Boston Scientific's ICD devices. Additionally, 52 percent said they are less likely to use the company's devices in the future.
With Boston Scientific out of the ICD running, one-third of the marketplace is "up for grabs," said Philip Legendy, director and senior medical device analyst at Majestic Research, in a statement.

In particular, two of Boston Scientific's competitors, Medtronic and St. Jude Medical have been given a big boost in the market.

Medtronic did not return calls for comment, but the company's CEO, Bill Hawkins told CNBC that his company is "well-positioned" to take on on the newly opened market.

Physicians surveyed underwent a stringent screening process, which took into account experience, patient volume, and whether they used Boston Scientific devices, Legendy told DOTmed News.

The electrophysiologists have "a lot of discretion in terms of which products they want to use," he says.

Survey questions were open-ended, in that they asked pollsters what they saw themselves using during the interim and even further out.

Researchers at Majestic said they expected to see Medtronic outpacing St. Jude's share of the new business at a ratio of about two to one. Instead, they found that St. Jude is running just 13 points of share behind Medtronic, almost a one to one ratio, says Legendy.

"We were surprised to find that, frankly," he says.

St. Jude Medical declined to comment.

Analysts have estimated that Boston Scientific may be losing $5 million a day with its defibrillators out of the market.

Legendy explains that there is an acute impact on Boston Scientific because they had to cease all of their ICD sales in the United States. But the long-term implications are unclear.

"[Boston Scientific] expects to be back on the market soon, and once they do get back on the market, that's when we'll see to what extent what companies [St. Jude Medical and Medtronic] made any share gains stick," Legendy says.

In addition to the findings regarding physicians' opinion of Boston Scientific, Majestic also uncovered the fact that this issue has affected patients. Twenty-five percent of physicians surveyed said they had patients contact them with concerns regarding the defibrillators.

"Any time you see patients confused or anxious about the status of a device, that has negative implications for the market," Legendy tells DOTmed News. "It can have an effect of shaking their trust in the technology."

Boston Scientific did not return calls or e-mails for comment.

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