"Volcano Corporation (NASDAQ:VOLC) , a leading manufacturer and developer of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), functional measurement (FM) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) products designed to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of coronary and peripheral vascular disease, announced today participation in SATURN (Study of Coronary Atheroma by InTravascular Ultrasound: Effect of Rosuvastatin Versus AtorvastatiN). This marks the first major pharmaceutical trial allowing physicians to use the Volcano Revolution (R) 45 MHz IVUS Imaging catheter as part of the protocol.
SATURN is a 104-week, parallel-group, multicentre, double-blind, Phase IIIb intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging study of approximately 1,300 patients at 170 centres worldwide. This study by AstraZeneca is designed to measure the impact of CRESTOR (TM) (rosuvastatin) 40 mg and atorvastatin (Lipitor(R)) 80 mg on the progression of atherosclerosis in high risk patients. SATURN will compare the effects of these two statins on the ability to decrease progression or induce regression of atherosclerosis, the main cause of cardiovascular disease, following two years of treatment in patients with coronary artery disease.
The SATURN study is chaired by Steve Nissen, MD, with Steve Nichols, MD from the Cleveland Clinic Core Lab as the principle investigator. Under this protocol, physicians enrolling patients may select the Volcano Revolution(R) IVUS catheters as their IVUS catheter of choice."
