Drug-Eluting Technology Revolutionizes US Market for Coronary Stents

July 27, 2005—The US coronary stent market was forever changed in April 2003 with the introduction of Cordis’ Cypher sirolimus-eluting stent. By allowing physicians to treat multi-vessel and more complex single-vessel cases, drug-eluting stents (DES), including Cypher and Boston Scientific’s Taxus, have precipitated increases in both the average number of stents placed per procedure and the eligible US patient population. According to a newly published report by Millennium Research Group (MRG), in 2005, DES sales comprised over 90% of the $3 billion US coronary stent market. Driven by rapid penetration, growing patient populations, and improved technology and availability, US DES revenue should surpass $4.5 billion by 2009.

In July 2004, the FDA issued a Class I recall for Boston Scientific’s industry-leading paclitaxel-eluting Taxus stent due to a design flaw involving balloon deflation. Over the course of the recall period, Cordis was able to cannibalize a portion of Boston Scientific’s market share, effectively repositioning its sirolimus-eluting Cypher as a leading-edge DES. In spite of the market opportunity presented by the Taxus recall, Cordis was unable to overtake Boston Scientific as the US DES market leader due to problems with Cypher availability.

MRG’s US Markets for Coronary Stents 2005 examines the impact of both bare-metal and drug-eluting coronary stents on the US market for interventional cardiology (IC). As part of MRG’s recently released Marketfocus report series, the report offers unparalleled market coverage of stents, including product analyses by brand, quarter, company, delivery platform, and diameter. In-depth competitive analysis of all major manufacturers, including Abbott Vascular (ABT), Boston Scientific (BSX), Cordis (JNJ), Guidant (GDT), and Medtronic (MDT), provides further insight into company-specific strategic marketing and business development initiatives.

In addition to coronary stents, MRG’s 2005 Marketfocus series offers US and European brand- and quarter-level coverage of PTCA balloons and accessory devices, and US coverage of plaque modification. MRG has also relaunched its Global Interventional Cardiology series, which features in-depth analysis of IC-related markets in the US, with forthcoming coverage of Europe, Japan, Latin America, and Asia Pacific.

A leading source of competitive intelligence, MRG is now the largest provider of medical device market research in the world. Located in Toronto, Canada, MRG covers global markets and has pioneered reporting of numerous emerging products.

Contact Information

Derrick Navarro

Senior Account Executive

Millennium Research Group

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