For Drug-Eluting Stents, How Full is the Cup?
Executive Summary
At this year's Paris Course on Revascularization, much of the discussion turned to drug-eluting stents. An important new clinical trial underscored the technology's value in reducing or eliminating restenosis. But with the product now commercially available in Europe, economic concerns are beginning to be heard loudly.
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The biggest news at this year's TCT meeting was, as anticipated, Boston Scientific's release of its latest TAXUS drug-eluting stent trial results, which showed slightly better binary restenosis rates than Johnson & Johnson's SIRIUS trial. The TAXUS results appeared to trigger a 4.5% drop in J&J's share price, surprising given that the TAXUS results weren't a dramatic improvement, but indicative of how much the companies involved with DES have at stake.
At TCT, A New Vision of the Device Industry
The biggest news at this year's TCT meeting was, as anticipated, Boston Scientific's release of its latest TAXUS drug-eluting stent trial results, which showed slightly better binary restenosis rates than Johnson & Johnson's SIRIUS trial. The TAXUS results appeared to trigger a 4.5% drop in J&J's share price, surprising given that the TAXUS results weren't a dramatic improvement, but indicative of how much the companies involved with DES have at stake.
Two Cheers for Evidence-Based Medicine
In recent years, evidence-based medicine has had an important influence on cardiovascular devices, but it's easy to overlook the staying power of subjective judgment. At a session on "What's the Science on Niche Devices?" held during this year's American Heart Association meeting, the cardiologist-audience clearly didn't seem deterred from using certain devices such as DCA and rotoblators, despite equivical or mediocre results in clinical trials.