Conor: An Outsider Delivers Drug-Stents' Next Generation
Executive Summary
Drug-eluting stents (DES), now approved in the US, will be the first blockbuster combination drug/device product to hit the market. First generation DES products use a stent design that remains basically unchanged from bare metal stents, bascially adding thin layers of drug and polymer coatings. Conor Medsystems is developing a stent that is specifically designed as a drug delivery vehicle, while still embodying the attributes required of a standard stent. Conor's stent is based on work done by an engineer with no expereince in the medical products industry, based on technology developed in other areas, bringing a fresh look to the future of combining drugs and stents that may extend to therapeutic applications beyond treating only cardiovascular disease.
You may also be interested in...
Device Financings: Recent Growth, Future Opportunities
In Vivo analyzed recent public and private device financings to determine the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the various types of device financings, and further broke down the investments by therapeutic categories to examine what areas are hot and which ones are not. We found that the device industry has rebounded from a dismal public market and is showing strength among both public and private investors, resulting in a sector well-positioned for continued growth.
Xtent and the Next DES Boom
Safety concerns and a retrenchment in usage have dimmed the luster of drug-eluting stents, but only slightly. If the market is to turn around and, more importantly, serve the kind of patients who really need these devices, a second-generation drug-eluting stent will be needed, one designed specifically for these new patients. And Xtent believe it has the technology to do just that.
COURAGE Trial: Bad News Again for Stents at ACC, Or Is It?
For the second year in a row, results from a clinical trial announced at the annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) conference appeared to be bad news for coronary stents. The outcomes from the COURAGE trial, announced at this year's ACC meeting in New Orleans at the end of March, found that angioplasty with stenting did not reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events when added to optimal medical therapy.