NEXT-GENERATION CORONARY DRUG-ELUTING STENTS

Drug-eluting stents represent the original paradigm for convergent medical technologies. They are a combination of a device (the stent to keep the vessel open after angioplasty) and a drug (to prevent restenosis).

Currently, the worldwide coronary stent market is extremely large at $5.1 billion in 2004 and estimated to grow to $5.8 billion in 2008.7 The current generation of stents provide a sustained release (for localized delivery within the coronary artery) of drugs such as sirolimus and paclitaxel which are derivatives of highly toxic cancer chemotherapeutics. Their mechanism of action is in broadly inhibiting cell division and hence substantially shutting down the vessel wall repair process that leads to restenosis.8 By way of analogy, cancer therapy has substantially progressed such that patients are now being increasingly treated with targeted or biological therapies rather than the generally cytotoxic drugs associated with traditional cancer chemotherapy. The same thing can be said for the Duravest/Estracure device which with its estrogen-based drug utilizes a safe, targeted and biologically-mediated suppression of the repair process and holds substantial promise for not only improved safety and efficacy but even a pro-healing effect.

The Duravest/Estracure 17-ß-estradiol stent clearly represents the next-generation of coronary drug-eluting stent technology. Therefore, our overall company strategy is not so much to target a small or even substantial niche in the growing multi-billion dollar coronary stent market but, simply put, to potentially replace the current technology. Like any company with a revolutionary technology, we aim at nothing less than actually being the market of the future.

For more information about Estracure's exciting technology click here.