Abbott CE mark covers extra-long stent size

In the fiercely competitive global stent market, Abbott ($ABT) seems to view size as mattering most.

The company says it won a key CE mark in Europe for a 48 mm-length of its Xience Xpedition drug-eluting stent to treat complex coronary artery disease--something the company bills as the world's longest stent of its kind.

But rather than just super-size its stent for the sake of a market edge, Abbott says the extra-long stent will be a more efficient and safer way to treat long blockages or lesions. And the company has been releasing different Xience Xpedition size options with the idea of giving doctors customized options to treat blockages of different lengths and sizes. The product now has multiple diameter sizes (2.25 mm to 4 mm) and has length variations ranging from 8 mm to 48 mm.

And those options can help Abbott stand out in a market that is rather crowded these days. The company touts the Xience variations as "one of the broadest ranges of CE mark indications for drug-eluting stents on the market in Europe," with variations that enable treatment of patients with coronary artery disease who may have a number of complications.

Lest you think Abbott is the only one trying to stand out with multiple stent sizes, Boston Scientific ($BSX) and Medtronic ($MDT) have also actively pursued approvals for various drug-eluting stent sizes in both the U.S. and European Union. But for now, at least, Abbott insists it has the longest stent option of the bunch.

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