Drug-Eluting Bioabsorbable Stent to Transform Vascular Restoration

A novel bioabsorbable vascular scaffold to treat coronary artery disease (CAD) will expand treatment and diagnostic options and reduce the risk of restenosis and thrombosis.

The Absorb bioabsorbable drug-eluting stent is designed to provide transient support to the vessel wall undergoing vascular restoration therapy (VRT), and is intended to prevent vessel recoil. The stent consists of a biodegradable polymer backbone composed of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and a poly-D,L-lactide (PDLLA) bioabsorbable polymer coating that controls the release of the antiproliferative drug everolimus. Once the vessel can remain open without the extra support, the stent is designed to slowly metabolize and eventually be resorbed by the body over a period of two years.


An absorbing stent relieves patients of a permanent metallic fixture and has the potential to allow the healed vessel to function normally; as a result, treated vessels may ultimately have the ability to move, flex, and pulsate in response to srimuli. Clinical outcomes have indicated that the Absorb performs similar to best-in-class drug-eluting stents across measures such as major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and target lesion revascularization (TLR), with the added benefit of disappearing over time. The Absorb bioabsorbable drug-eluting stent is a product of Abbott (London, United Kingdom), and has received the European Community CE marking of approval. It is currently in trials in the United States, and does not have regulatory approval.

“Abbott has remained committed to meeting the growing physician and patient demand for a bioresorbable vascular scaffold, from the initial device developed nearly 10 years ago to the expansion of our manufacturing capabilities to support this international launch,” said John Capek, executive vice president of medical devices at Abbott. “We are proud to be the first company to commercialize a drug eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold, which has the potential to revolutionize the way physicians treat their patients with coronary artery disease.”

Everolimus is a derivative of sirolimus and functions as an inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). It is currently used as an immunosuppressant to prevent rejection of organ transplants and as a treatment of renal cell cancer and other tumors.

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