Cordis Corp. enrolled the first patients in a clinical trial of a stent graft designed to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms.
The Bridgewater, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary said the Innovation study of its InCraft stenting system will assess the device’s safety, with up to 25 patients enrolled at three sites in Germany.
Many patients, especially women, are excluded from endovascular aneurysm repair because current stent grafts are too large to navigate smaller blood vessels, according to Dr. Dierk Scheinert of Park-Krankenhaus Hospital in Leipzig, the lead investigator in the study. The InCraft device has a lower-profile delivery system designed to overcome this obstacle, according to a press release.
About 27 million people worldwide have abdominal aortic aneurysms, which, left untreated, will eventually rupture. More than 80 percent of aneurysms that rupture result in death. About 15,000 people die every year in the U.S. from ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms, according to the press release.
Last month Cordis hired the lead investigator in clinical trials of its workhorse Cypher coronary artery stent, Dr. Christian Spaulding, to be its worldwide vice president of medical affairs.
