Abbott: Xience V stent will become new standard

Abbott has announced that positive clinical results are to drive its Xience V is to become the new standard for drug-eluting stents.

It claims the stent is the only such product to have shown superiority over the Taxus paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent from Boston Scientific in two randomised head-to-head clinical trials.

Xience V is used to open a blocked or narrowed artery and release everolimus in a controlled manner to prevent re-blocking of the artery following a stent procedure.

It is used to treat coronary artery disease which occurs when plaque build-up narrows the arteries and reduces blood flow to the heart, potentially leading to heart attack.

The everolimus-eluting coronary stent has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and will be released in the US immediately.

John M Capek, executive vice-president of medical devices at Abbott, said: “We believe Xience V will quickly become the new standard for drug eluting stents given its outstanding clinical results.”

He added doctors have been waiting for years for a drug-eluting stent product that delivers on excellent clinical performance and ease of use.

In April 2008, Abbott confirmed the results from a study of Xience V showing a 50 per cent reduction in vessel re-narrowing at eight months.