Johnson & Johnson Launches VARIPULSE Platform across Asia-Pacific, Advancing Atrial Fibrillation Treatment

PR Newswire
08 Jul 2025, 07:30 GMT+10

The VARIPULSE Platform is the first Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) system fully integrated with the CARTO 3 electroanatomical mapping system, designed to drive efficiency, reproducibility, and procedural accuracy.^{1,i,ii,iii,iv,v,vi,vii,viii,ix}

The VARIPULSE Platform is approved in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Taiwan and Korea.

IRVINE, Calif., July 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson & Johnson MedTech, a global leader in cardiac arrhythmia treatment, today announced the launch of the VARIPULSE Platform in Asia-Pacific. The platform is used to perform catheter ablation procedures for atrial fibrillation (AFib), an irregular and often rapid heartbeat caused by extra, uncoordinated electrical signals in the atria.^x AFib is associated with structural changes in the heart due to underlying conditions and lifestyle factors.^x^,xi It significantly increases the risk of stroke, heart failure, and mortality.

The VARIPULSE Platform is the first PFA technology designed to streamline ablation and mapping through a single integrated workflow with the CARTO 3 System. This 3D electroanatomical cardiac mapping technology enables real-time visualization and supports precision, efficiency, reproducibility, and procedural accuracy for physicians treating patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib)^xii. It enables safe and efficientⁱ^{,ii,iii,iv,v,vi,vii}, patient-centric therapy with minimal to no fluoroscopy exposurexⁱⁱⁱ^,xiv,xv and is compatible with deep and/or conscious sedation.^2,xvi,xvii

This innovation is backed by compelling clinical evidence. Both the inspIRE and admIRE clinical trials demonstrated strong safety and effectiveness of the VARIPULSE Platform:

In inspIRE, 80% of patients achieved freedom from recurrence with zero primary adverse events.^xviii
In admIRE, results showed a 75% overall primary effectiveness success rate³, a 2.9% primary adverse event rate^4,xix, 100% of patients achieved acute procedural success⁵, 43% had same-day discharge, and 25% of procedures were performed without fluoroscopy⁶.
In the ongoing VARIPURE registry, which included first-time users, there were no serious adverse events and no complications linked to the platform, including zero neurovascular events or coronary spasms^xx.

"The introduction of the VARIPULSE Platform in the Asia-Pacific region marks a significant advancement towards our goal of transforming atrial fibrillation care," stated Jing Li, Vice President, Electrophysiology & Neurovascular, Johnson & Johnson MedTech, Asia Pacific. "The adoption of the VARIPULSE Platform could demonstrate the unique value of integration with CARTO 3D to enhance efficiencies in the workflow of AFib treatment and improve patient outcomes."

Atrial Fibrillation affects over 16 million people in Asia-Pacific^xxi. Symptoms and clinical consequences of AFib disrupt patient's quality of life. The most common symptoms are heart palpitations, fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, and dizziness^xxii. As a progressive condition, early intervention is critical to reducing the risk of stroke, heart failure, and cardiovascular mortality^xxiii.

Unlike traditional ablation methods that use heat or cold, PFA uses short bursts of energy to affect heart tissue, potentially reducing the risk of damage to surrounding tissue such as the esophagus, pulmonary veins, and phrenic nerve.

"PFA, as a new type of energy, has the potential to further enhance the safety and efficacy of catheter ablation treatment, which is desirable for patients" said Dr. Yasuo Okumura⁷, Professor and Department Head, Vice Hospital Director, Nihon University School of Medicine, Itabashi Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. "PFA is a relatively new medical technology, and therefore it is important to continue to assess its effectiveness and efficacy in Asia while ensuring proper use. But so far, we know that the integration of PFA technology with 3D mapping enables physicians to review their procedure in detail, and this contributes to quality of healthcare for patients."

About the VARIPULSE Platform
The VARIPULSE Platform is Johnson & Johnson MedTech's Pulsed Field ablation system. The fully integrated platform includes the VARIPULSE Catheter, TRUPULSE Generator, and CARTO 3 Mapping System VARIPULSE Software. The Platform is now approved for use in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Canada.

Cardiovascular Solutions from Johnson & Johnson MedTech
Across Johnson & Johnson, we are tackling the world's most complex and pervasive health challenges. Through a cardiovascular portfolio that provides healthcare professionals with advanced mapping and navigation, miniaturized tech, and precise ablation we are addressing conditions with significant unmet needs such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, stroke, and atrial fibrillation. We are the global leaders in heart recovery, circulatory restoration, and the treatment of heart rhythm disorders, as well as an emerging leader in neurovascular care, committed to taking on two of the leading causes of death worldwide in heart failure and stroke. For more, visit biosensewebster.com.

About Johnson & Johnson
At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more about our MedTech sector's global scale and deep expertise in surgery, orthopaedics, vision, and cardiovascular solutions at https://thenext.jnjmedtech.com/. Follow us at @JNJMedTech and on LinkedIn. Biosense Webster, Inc. is a Johnson & Johnson MedTech company.

Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding the VARIPULSE Platform. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: uncertainty of commercial success; challenges to patents; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; manufacturing difficulties and delays; product efficacy or safety concerns resulting in product recalls or regulatory action; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; changes in behavior and spending patterns of purchasers of health care products and services; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and descriptions of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, including in the sections captioned "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Item 1A. Risk Factors," and in Johnson & Johnson's subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments.

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¹	When compared to procedures that did not use navigation systems.
²	Based on a subset of 29 deep sedation patients from the inspIRE study and 60 patients in inspIRE study. Procedures completed under sedation vs general anesthesia had comparable safety rates and procedure times, demonstrating safety and procedural efficiency.
³	Primary effectiveness was defined as 12-month freedom from documented (symptomatic or asymptomatic) atrial tachyarrhythmia (atrial fibrillation [AF]/atrial tachycardia [AT]/atrial flutter [AF]) episodes of 30 seconds duration based on rhythm monitoring during the post-blanking evaluation period (day 91-365), as well as freedom from other failure modes: failure to achieve entrance block in all PVs; >1 repeat ablation for atrial tachyarrhythmia during the 3-month blanking period or any repeat ablation during the evaluation period; use of a nonstudy catheter to treat the PVs and/or to ablate left atrial non-PV AF targets during the index procedure or to perform a repeat procedure during the 3-month blanking period; taking new or previously failed Class I/III AADs at greater doses during the evaluation period; continuous AF/AT/AFL of unknown origin during the evaluation period; or direct-current cardioversion during the evaluation period for AF/AT/AFL recurrences. The protocol defined performance goal is 50%.
⁴	Primary adverse events included device- or procedure- related death, major vascular access complications or bleeding, myocardial infarction, pericarditis, heart block, permanent phrenic nerve paralysis, stroke, thromboembolism, transient ischemic attack, pulmonary edema, and vagal nerve injury/gastroparesis within 7 days of the index ablation procedure. PAEs also included cardiac tamponade/perforation occurring up to 30 days post-procedure, atrioesophageal fistula occurring up to 90 days postprocedure, and PV stenosis occurring anytime during the 12-month follow-up period. The protocol-defined performance goal was 12%.
⁵	Acute procedural success was defined as the percent of participants with electrical isolation of all PVs with confirmed entrance block at the end of the procedure (n=255).
⁶	Visualization performed with ICE and the CARTO 3 System.
⁷	Dr. Okumura serves as a consultant for Johnson & Johnson but was not compensated for this announcement
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ⁱ	Duytschaever M, De Potter T, Grimaldi M, et al. Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Using a Novel Variable-Loop Biphasic Pulsed Field Ablation Catheter Integrated With a 3-Dimensional Mapping System: 1-Year Outcomes of the Multicenter inspIRE Study. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2023;16(3):e011780. doi:10.1161/CIRCEP.122.011780 pg 4
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