VANCOUVER, June 11 /CNW/ - Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANPI,
TSX: ANP), a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company, today
announced that its corporate partner, Cook Medical, has reported positive
interim results from the registry arm of a clinical study measuring the
effectiveness of its Zilver PTX drug-eluting peripheral stent in treating
peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The results, which were reported by the
trial investigators last week at the 2008 SVS Vascular Annual Meeting,
revealed clinical improvement, excellent durability and fracture resistance,
and high rates of event-free survival (EFS) and freedom from target lesion
revascularization (TLR). In addition, the Zilver stent exhibited no safety
concerns and results were better than expected for TASC class C and D lesions,
occlusions, in-stent restenosis and lesions greater than seven centimetres
(2.75 inches).