Abbott's Absorb stent not superior to other varieties, says study

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority capped the price of stents in February at Rs 30,000

A recent study has said that Abbott’s ‘fully-absorbable’ heart stent, named Absorb, is not superior to its Xience Everolimus-Eluting Stent (EES). Stents are mesh tubes used to treat blocked arteries. The study, by online resource on interventional cardiology TCTMD, was done with 5,500 patients who had implanted either Absorb or EES. 

The study comes at a time when the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has asked Abbot to prove its superiority if it wants a better price. The authority had capped the price of stents in February at Rs 30,000. After this, Abbott submitted a plea to the authority for withdrawing Absorb from the Indian market. Rejecting its application, the regulator said they should prove the stents’ worth for a better price.

Results of the randomised trial suggested that patients, who were fitted with Absorb, were associated with increased rates adverse effects as compared with EES. 

After 12 months of studying, the report found device-related issues in 11 Absorb-treated patients between one and two years. No such issues were found in EES-treated patients during the same period. However, the research also suggested that results could vary depending on the technique used to implant the stent. 

To questions sent by Business Standard, Abbott said: “As noted in the (study) paper, early- and late-target lesion revascularisation events can be minimised by following current instructions for use, which include avoiding use in very small vessels... As a first generation device, Absorb requires greater attention to procedural detail to optimise results, including sizing the vessel appropriately and post-dilatation.”