A study that compared drug-eluting stents from a pair of the industry’s heaviest hitters, Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and Abbott (NYSE:ABT), concluded that both companies’ devices resulted in very similar clinical outcomes for patients.
The 2-year results of the TWENTE clinical trial, which compared Medtronic’s Resolute zotarolimus-eluting stent to Abbott’s Xience V everolimus-eluting stent, showed no real difference between the 2 in terms of target vessel failure, a key factor in cardiac death.
However, the 2 stents did differ slightly. Patients with Medtronic’s device had to be re-treated more often (experienced a higher target lesion revascularization), and patients with Abbott’s device were more likely to suffer cardiac death. Study authors noted that these differences led to overall endpoints that were statistically similar.
The trial randomly assorted 1,391 patients into 2 treatment arms, and the most recent 2-year data was published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology. TWENTE was also designed to learn more about these stents compared to older stents, such as Boston Scientific’s (NYSE:BSX) Taxus and Cordis’ Cypher, which contain a polymer that can led to inflammation after long-term use.
Now that Johnson & Johnson‘s (NYSE:JNJ) Cordis subsidiary has ceded the coronary stent market to its rivals, Abbott, Boston Scientific and Medtronic are locked in a 3-way battle to dominate the sector.
In the U.S. market, Abbott in January 2013 landed FDA approval for its Xience Xpedition coronary stent and Medtronic won expanded approval for Resolute Integrity the following month.
