Innovative Coronary Stent Has Superior Biocompatibility.

The Catania coronary stent is neither a bare metal nor drug-eluting stent ((DES); instead, its surface has been modified with a highly lubricious, inorganic, biocompatible coating called Polyzene-F, an anti-thrombotic, anti-inflammatory, bacteria-resistant, synthetic polymer. The combination of stent and surface treatment effectively creates a new and different stent option that offers many of the clinical benefits of drug-eluting stents, while addressing some of the significant ongoing concerns with DES technology such as potential for thrombosis and challenges associated with costly long-term dual anti-platelet therapy following treatment, including patient compliance, bleeding risks, drug intolerance, and product cost. The Catania coronary stent is a product of CeloNova Biosciences (Newnan, GA, USA); it has received the European Community (CE) Marking.

"After having evaluated the Polyzene-F coating many years ago, it is interesting to see this concept coming back with experimental and initial clinical data quite encouraging toward prevention of stent thrombosis," said Antonio Colombo, M.D., director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at Columbus Hospital (Milan, Italy) and chief of invasive cardiology at San Raffaele Hospital (Milan, Italy).

"We agree with Albert Einstein who said that we should strive to design solutions that are as simple as possible. The Catania stent, while it is superbly engineered to include the highly developed Polyzene-F, is a simple solution to a complex problem. It has no drugs, no thick polymeric coating, no substance to artificially stimulate cell growth, and no additives," said Thomas Gordy, president and CEO of CeloNova BioSciences. "And, it does not force patients to take dual antiplatelet therapies for months on end, further complicating their lives."

Polyzene-F is a synthesized inorganic chemical compound with an extensive array of bioscience and industrial applications that can be applied to or mixed with other substances to allow for a diverse range of bioscience and industrial applications on a multitude of substrates, including other polymers, metals, and ceramics. Medical devices coated with Polyzene-F do not cause a negative reaction in the body when introduced, eliciting a normalized and positive bodily response. Polyzene-F can be customized and applied in a variety of ways including as a coating, extrusion, weaving, or electro-spinning ranging in thickness from less than 40 nanometers to more than 200 nanometers.

Related Links:
CeloNova Biosciences
San Raffaele Hospital