Are Drug-Coated Stents Ready for a Comeback?

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November 12, 2007, 8:50 am
Posted by Jacob Goldstein
Is time for a backlash to the backlash against drug-coated stents? The NYT reports that some think so. Many docs believe safety fears about the devices have been overblown, and recent data suggest that a return to more frequent use of the devices is in order, according to a story on the paper’s front page this morning.

Data emerged last year to show that drug-coated stents pose a small but serious risk of causing blood clots long after being implanted. This spring, the Courage trial suggested many patients don’t benefit from stents compared with drugs anyway. Stent sales are way down and Boston Scientific and J&J, the twin titans of the stent world, are laying people off.

But the NYT cites other, more recent studies that suggest drug-coated stents are a good option for many patients. A study presented last week at the big AHA conference, for example, found mortality rates were lower for patients who received drug-coated stents than for those who received bare-metal stents. “[T]here really is a turnaround in the texture and the direction of the data,” Eric Topol, cardiology guru at Scripps Health, told the paper.

Still, we’re not holding our breath for that big stent comeback just yet. The long-term clot risk is documented, and a decent chunk of drug-coated stent use through last year may been the result of some irrational exuberance over the devices. And the NYT article itself cites Boston Scientific’s chief medical officer Donald S. Baim suggesting a turnaround isn’t imminent. “It takes a lot longer to regrow a forest than to cut it down,” he said.