Lombard Medical research deal with Amgen and Sheffield Univ

The UK's Lombard Medical Technologies says that its Polymer Coatings Division has begun a research program to develop a new combination of drug and drug-eluting polymer for the treatment of coronary stent restenosis.

The project is to combine a proprietary drug from US biotechnology major Amgen with Lombard's novel PEP drug-eluting polymer and determine the elution profile on a drug-eluting stent in a 28-day model devised by the University of Sheffield, UK. The University of Sheffield has demonstrated the potential effectiveness of the drug in the reduction of restenosis and earlier feasibility studies have shown the drug is bioactive when it is released from the PEPpolymer.

Drug-eluting stents represent a major innovative leap forward in the treatment of coronary artery disease, in that the latest research findings indicate that drug eluting stents reduce the need for re-intervention after stent implantation to a greater extent than bare metal stents, said Lombard, noting that health care industry estimates have suggested that the market for these products has reached a value of around $6.0 billion.