The Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) share price is up after providing an update about news from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
For context, Cochlear shares are up close to 2% whilst the ASX 200(ASX: XJO) is up approximately 1%.
Cochlear’s FDA development
Cochlear revealed in a media release that it has obtained US FDA approval for its Cochlear Nucleus Impacts for the treatment of unilateral hearing loss (UHL) and single-sided deafness (SSD).
It was noted that Cochlear implants are already FDA-approved for people with ‘moderate to profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss’. Cochlear can expand its implantable treatment options to those with UHL/SSD to include cochlear implants for the first time.
According to Cochlear, around 60,000 people in the US get SSD every year.
The hearing device business points out that UHL and SSD can impact an individual’s quality of life, including mental fatigue because of increased listening effort, as well as impacts to understanding speech in noise and localizing where sounds are coming from.
Cochlear says its implantable hearing solutions restore access to sound to improve quality of life and meet the lifestyle needs and preferences of each individual recipient.
Management comments
Christine Menapace, who is the Vice President of Clinical Affairs in Cochlear Americas, said:
“It is not often that approvals to expand indications and increase awareness about effective treatments for hearing loss come along. Now with this approval, Cochlear is proud to offer the most hearing implant options available to those with unilateral hearing loss/single-sided deafness through our cochlear implant and bone conduction solutions.
“It is important that those with this type of hearing loss recognize the impact to their lives and understand there are several options available to them, and we encourage them to talk to their hearing health professional today to find out what would work best for them.”
Summary thoughts on the Cochlear share price
Cochlear has been one of the most successful businesses to come out of Australia. Is it worth buying today? I’m not sure if it is. It has an impressive in-built client base that can provide regular earnings for the ASX healthcare share. However, at around 42 times the estimated earnings for the 2023 financial year (according to CommSec), I think there are a number of ASX growth shares that could provide strong longer-term growth for the current price.
