B Braun announces new deal to treat stenosis

B Braun, the German-based medical device company, has revealed it has signed a development and marketing licensing agreement for a novel coated balloon catheter that is coated with paclitaxel, the same drug as is used in several types of drug-eluting stents.

The company released new clinical data from research performed in conjunction with the Charite hospital in Berlin.

Designed to treat stenosis, five per cent of the study group using the new catheter developed the condition again, compared to 43 per cent in the control group of patients.

Furthermore, the clinical event rate of additional occurrences – like death, myocardial infarction, stroke and reinvention – was four per cent for the balloon group, compared to 31 per cent in the control group.

B Braun has signed a licensing agreement with the hospital to develop this type of treatment further.

While drug-eluting stents also prevent the risk of re-stenosis of the coronary arteries, vascular thrombosis is a risk factor associated with their use, the company claims.

A statement from the company read: “Initial data indicates that drug release via the balloon is more efficient and safer than via a stent.”

Paclitaxel has been used for a number of years as a treatment for cancer and is also the basis for the drug elution in Boston Scientific’s Taxus stents. The drug is derived from the bark of Pacific yew trees.