Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the PROMUS(TM) Everolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease. The PROMUS Stent is a private-labeled XIENCE(TM) V Everolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent System manufactured by Abbott and distributed by Boston Scientific under an agreement executed prior to the 2006 acquisition of the former Guidant Corporation by Boston Scientific. FDA approval clears the way for Boston Scientific to launch the PROMUS Stent immediately in the US.
The PROMUS Stent expands Boston Scientific's drug-eluting stent (DES) portfolio, which includes the TAXUS(R) Express2(R) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System (in the US and international markets) and the TAXUS(R) Liberte(R) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System (in international markets), making Boston Scientific the only company to offer physicians the choice of two distinct drugs (paclitaxel and everolimus) on separate DES platforms.
"The PROMUS Stent has shown outstanding deliverability, low late loss and the potential to reduce the need for re-interventions," said Ted Feldman, MD, FSCAI, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare in Evanston, Illinois. "These benefits will make the PROMUS Stent an attractive new treatment option for US physicians and their patients."
"FDA approval of the PROMUS Stent fulfills Boston Scientific's promise of an unprecedented two-drug strategy - two distinct drugs on two highly deliverable stent platforms," said Jim Tobin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boston Scientific. "The PROMUS Stent complements our broad DES portfolio and further reinforces Boston Scientific's leadership in the DES market, as well as our commitment to continued innovation and improved patient outcomes."
The next-generation PROMUS Stent is a highly deliverable stent made from cobalt chromium, which allows for thinner struts without sacrificing strength or visibility. The SPIRIT clinical trials indicate that the combination of the polymer/stent platform and the controlled release of the everolimus drug results in excellent deliverability, a strong safety profile, low levels of late loss and improved efficacy, making the PROMUS (XIENCE V) Stent a valuable addition to the U.S. drug-eluting stent market.
Boston Scientific's PROMUS Stent and Abbott's XIENCE V Stent are identical products sold by the respective companies under different brand names. The PROMUS (XIENCE V) Stent is indicated for improving coronary luminal diameter in patients with symptomatic heart disease due to de novo native coronary artery lesions (up to 28 mm long) with reference vessel diameter of 2.5 to 4.0 mm.
