Opto Circuits arm gets CE mark nod

Opto Circuits (India) Ltd's wholly-owned subsidiary EuroCor GmBH has received CE (Communite European) mark approval for marketing its new polymer-free paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system, called Taxcor-I.

This product, which is used in coronary angioplasty (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty -- PTCA), is a second-generation innovation of EuroCor's present DES (drug-eluting stent) product "" Taxcor.

Stents are used for successfully re-opening of narrowed coronary arteries, for full blood flow restoration, to avoid a bypass surgery.

EuroCor GmBH is a German manufacturer of cardiovascular devices, in particular coronary stents. OCI acquired EuroCor in December 2005, extending OCI's product mix to invasive medical devices.

Explaining the unique technology of the system, Vinod Ramnani, chairman & managing director, OCI, said, "Polymeric drug carriers, coated on the stents, have been known to cause blood clots, also leading to late thrombotic complications. Eurocor is the first manufacturer of a drug-eluting coronary stent system which uses a new, polymer-free drug attachment technology. Taxcor I is thus, a path-breaking technology in the field of DES products. It considerably enhances patient safety and completely eliminates any polymer-related late adverse effects unlike many other DES offerings from global giants."