Artery Disease Faces Future Enemy In Bioabsorbable Stents

Main Category: Heart Disease
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology;  Vascular
Article Date: 01 Feb 2013 - 2:00 PST


Coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease are global health issues that affect millions of lives each year, and bioabsorbable stents are due to become the next step in treatment once the medical world has provided enough clinical data and prices are lowered, states a new report by research and consulting firm GlobalData.

Stent technology has evolved over the years to address the challenges of treating arterial diseases, and the new report* looks at bioabsorbable stents, which offer temporary scaffolding to the vessel and then disappear over time, leaving behind a healed artery. Bioabsorbable stents are in their infancy and there is a long road ahead before widespread adoption into clinical practice is reached, but GlobalData believes the technology holds the potential to revolutionize patient treatment.

"Coronary and peripheral artery diseases affect over 7 million and 8 million people above the age of 65 years respectively, and will continue to increase in the future," states GlobalData's Analyst for Cardiovascular Devices, Priya Madhavan, M.S.

Although traditional stents improve patient prognosis in comparison to invasive cardiac surgeries, complications such as restenosis and thrombosis remain a concern, and there is a demand from physicians to reduce the need for dual anti-platelet therapy, required when implanting bare metal and drug-eluting stents. Fully degradable and absorbable stents tackle all these concerns, and could potentially ensure quality long-term results for the patient.

Although bioabsorbable stents offer several advantages, GlobalData predicts that adoption of this technology will be slow in the US and Europe, as a lack of long-term clinical data and high prices remain barriers to public and professional acceptance.

Madhavan states: "Bioabsorbable stent technology is novel and exciting, however, the technology is in the early stages of development and has a long road ahead before it becomes a standard of care in clinical practice. As bioabsorbable stents receive FDA approval, the US will acquire market share and steadily become the largest market through 2018 and beyond."

GlobalData estimates bioabsorbable stent sales to be US$4.2m in 2012 across the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, growing to over US$700m by the end of 2018 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 172%. The launch of fully bioabsorbable stent products currently in the pipeline, such as the DREAMS stent developed by Biotronik, and the FDA approval and launch of Absorb BVS and Remedy in the US are expected to significantly expand options within the bioabsorbable stent market.

*MediPoint: Bioabsorbable Stents - Global Analysis and Market Forecasts

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