Conor Medsystems’ CoStar Stent Gains European Approval

CoStar: Going to market.

The $6 billion worldwide market for drug-eluting coronary stents gained another entry in late February as the CoStar stent manufactured by Conor Medsystems Inc. (Menlo Park, CA) received the CE mark from t he British Standards Institution (London) following a review of the stent’s clinical trials.

Following the approval, Conor Medsystems immediately announced plans to begin sales of the stent throughout the European Union and other markets that recognize CE marking. Conor will sell the stent in these markets through its partner, Biotronik AG ( Bülach, Switzerland), a manufacturer and global distributor of interventional cardiology devices.

“With more than 800,000 angioplasty procedures performed each year in Europe and the market growing at a rate of almost 10% annually, there is tremendous commercial potential for Conor’s CoStar stent,” said Marlou Janssen, vice president of sales and marketing for Biotronik’s vascular intervention unit.

“We believe that the unique design and technology of Conor’s drug-eluting stent represent a significant innovation in the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease and that the use of Conor’s CoStar stent will lead to improved patient care,” said Azin Parhizgar, PhD, CEO of Conor Medsystems.

Unlike other drug-eluting stents on the market, the cobalt chromium CoStar design features hundreds of holes or reservoirs for holding the drug. This design is in contrast to those of conventional drug-eluting stents, in which the drug is layered on top of the stent’s polymer coating.

CoStar also uses a polymer coating, but it is a bioabsorbable compound that is applied only within the stent’s tiny holes where the drug is loaded. The company reports that the surface of the stent is virtually polymer-free, thereby avoiding some of the stickiness problems reported in implanting typical polymer-coated drug-eluting stents. Additionally, CoStar’s bioabsorbable compounds are dispersed by the body after the drug is depleted, leaving no permanent residual polymers, according to the company.

The CoStar stent is manufactured at Conor Medsystems’ ISO-certified facility in Ireland.

In related news, the United Kingdom’s High Court of Justice ruled that Conor’s use of the drug paclitaxel does not infringe the drug-coating stent technology patented by Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Toronto) and licensed to Boston Scientific Corp (Natick, MA) for its market-leading Taxus stent. A company spokesperson for Angiotech said that the company plans to appeal the decision. Boston Scientific is likely to join in the litigation.

Although Conor faces similar suits in Australia, The Netherlands, and the United States, many analysts believe the company presents a strong case for its claim of “unique design.” The company is generally reported to be in a favorable position to withstand these legal challenges.

The CoStar stent is currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States, where the company expects to gain market approval in late 2007.

© 2006 Canon Communications LLC

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