Billionaire Cliff Asness’ Top 5 Healthcare Stock Picks

4. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

AQR Capital Management’s Stake Value: $864,252,715

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 113

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is one of billionaire Cliff Asness’ top 10 healthcare stock picks. On June 25, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced the commercial launch of the Dual Energy THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH SF (DE STSF) Platform in Europe. That means the platform is now commercially available to electrophysiologists across the EMEA region for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation.

The company said that the platform is the first of its kind to combine two distinct energy sources in a single catheter-based solution. It combines radiofrequency (RF) and pulsed field (PF) energy to allow physicians to switch between the two during the same procedure without having to change equipment. This is clinically significant because RF and PF ablation each have different tissue effects and safety profiles, said Nicolas Derval, M.D., a consultant for Johnson & Johnson based in Bordeaux, France. Derval added that the ability to use both gives doctors more flexibility to tailor treatment to individual patient anatomy and disease patterns.

Johnson & Johnson explained that the platform consists of the DE STSF Catheter, which is an irrigated, contact-force sensing catheter that physically delivers energy to heart tissue. The other half consists of the TRUPULSE Generator, which controls and powers the delivery of both RF and PF energy. The company said the system is fully integrated with its CARTO 3 System, which is an electro-anatomical mapping platform. This combination enables real-time 3D visualization, contact-force feedback, and index-guided ablation during live procedures.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is a healthcare conglomerate. It operates through two segments: Innovative Medicine, which develops and markets prescription drugs in oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and infectious disease, and MedTech, which manufactures medical devices for surgery, orthopedics, and interventional solutions.

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