WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- At the site of the world’s premier interventional vascular medicine conference, Atlanta-based CeloNova BioSciences today announced its technological solution for the serious thrombosis problems facing drug-eluting stents-the patented, medically inert Polyzene(R)-F stent coating.
“Polyzene(R)-F prevents thrombosis and promotes normal endothelial cell growth. Interventional physicians will soon be able to minimize restenosis without resorting to drug-eluting stents that can cause thromboses and myocardial infarcts,” stated Thomas A. Gordy, CeloNova BioSciences Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
The ‘stealth technology’ that makes the Polyzene(R)-F coating inert is already in use in the EU for medical applications where devices require an anti-inflammatory and non-thrombogenic surface, and it is now undergoing extensive study in the EU as a means to improve upon the safety record of life-preserving vascular stents.
Why stents need Polyzene(R)-F coatings. Balloon angioplasty is a non- invasive technique for opening occluded (clogged) coronary blood vessels. Interventionalists insert the balloon end of a long tube (catheter) into the body, usually through the large femoral artery in the groin. After threading the catheter through the artery until it reaches a blocked area of a coronary (heart) artery the balloon at the tip is lightly inflated to compress fatty plaque against the interior walls of the vessel. Stents are then usually employed to make sure that these cleared vessels don’t collapse or re-block. Stents are tiny precision-crafted metal cages that encompass the surface of the balloon or ride along on the catheter. When the balloon is inflated, the stent expands like a scaffolding to keep the vessel open. Unfortunately, about 10%-50% of stents also become blocked. To deal with this problem and prevent excessive cell growth inside the stent, some manufacturers now coat their stents with chemotherapy drugs-but those drugs may cause as many problems as they solve.
How Polyzene(R)-F may avoid the deadly problems associated with drug- coated stents. Long term studies now suggest that a small number (2-6%) of these ‘drug-eluting’ stents are associated with a rare but catastrophic risk for thrombosis. Nearly 50% of patients with a drug-eluting stent thrombosis die from the effects of the blood clot. This increased risk of thromboses (blood clots) and deaths is apparently caused by the drugs’ interference with the normal blood vessel wall healing process in which new endothelial cells grow over the site of the stent implant as the stent is integrated into the structure of the artery. In contrast to this interference from drugs, in animal studies and human clinical trials, Polyzene(R)-F actually promoted healthy endothelial cell growth. And, in contrast to the clot-inducing potential of bare metal stents, the Polyzene(R)-F coating inhibits the adhesion and activation of the thrombocytes and coagulation factors that can produce clots. Polyzene(R)-F also has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and low-friction properties that can optimize the long-term durability of cardiac stents and other implanted medical devices.
About CeloNova BioSciences. CeloNova is a Georgia-based bioscience company that specializes in producing medical coatings and devices that can diminish disease while remaining cloaked from identification and negative interaction with bodily systems. The company’s mission is “to heal the world” by providing products and technologies that make life easier for doctors and safer for patients.
For more information, please log-on to www.celonova.com
CeloNova BioSciences
CONTACT: Josh Weinstein, jwEinstein SM, Inc., Mobile: +1-862-216-5674,jwemc2@rcn.com
Web site: http://www.celonova.com//
