Abbott ($ABT) just announced the CE-marking of its latest Absorb bioresorbable stent at the annual EuroPCR conference in Paris. The device is called the Absorb GT1, in reference to its GlideTrak delivery catheter, which is supposed to make it easier for doctors to access and treat diseased vessels among coronary artery disease patients.
"Absorb GT1 will enable physicians to treat more people with coronary artery disease due to its improved delivery system," said Christoph Kurt Naber, director of Contilia Heart and Vascular Centre in Essen, Germany, in a statement. "Dissolving stents are the next logical step in the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease as these stents completely dissolve after opening up clogged arteries and restoring blood flow. With the prevalence of CAD around the world, this therapy has the potential to improve the health of many people."
Developers of bioresorbable stents believe that by degrading, the stents will allow vessels to return to their natural state and reduce restenosis, or the reformation of plaque on the vessel wall in years following stent implantation. Restenosis narrows the arteries and restricts blood flow once again.
Bioresorble stents do elute drugs, similar to the prior generation drug-eluting stents, which remain the standard of care at the moment.
There are no bioresorbable stents approved in the U.S. Abbott's Absorb is not approved in China or Japan either, but together the three markets account for half of the world's stenting procedures.
Meanwhile, Boston Scientific ($BSX) had a data dump regarding its partially bioresorbable Synergy stent. The metal body of the stent remains intact, but the device's polymer coating is absorbed by the body after three months upon completion of drug elution.
The company said the target revascularization (or repeat procedure) rate was 1.1% compared to 6.1% in its Promus Element Plus Stent, and there were no cases of definite or probable stent thrombosis (or blood clots).
"These long-term data, combined with the data for a particularly challenging group of patients--those with co-morbid diabetes--reinforce our belief in the difference the Synergy Bioabsorbable Polymer Stent can make for physicians and their patients," said Kevin Ballinger, president of the interventional cardiology unit at Boston Scientific. "The Synergy Stent is designed to provide early healing and freedom from long-term polymer exposure, and we are confident that clinical studies and experience will continue to demonstrate excellent long-term outcomes."
The CE-marked device remains investigational in the U.S. and Japan.
- read the Abbott release
- read the Boston Scientific release