(Taiwan) ScinoPharm product used in Medtronic's newly approved stent :: BiotechEast - Taiwan and China biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, ^¤å½s×, ^¤å×§ï ::

(BiotechEast staff)

6 September, 2005
ScinoPharm Taiwan reported today that US-based medical device giant Medtronic's new drug-delivering stent has been approved for marketing in Europe for the treatment of certain coronary disease interventional procedures.

Medtronic's Endeavor(TM) stent combines Abbott's patented drug Zotarolimus (formerly ABT-578), Medtronic's Driver(R) Coronary Stent platform, and Biocompatibles PC(TM) Polymer into a drug-eluting stent system.

In its statement, Tainan county-based ScinoPharm said that the Zotarolimus manufacturing process has been co-developed together with Abbott, and was the first new chemical entity manufactured the company to be included in a commercialized product.

Drug-eluting stents can reduce the rate of repeat procedures due to re-clogging of arteries, and are considered superior to traditional bare metal stents. The global market for such stents is around US$5.5 billion, and is expected to grow at rapid pace.

ScinoPharm Taiwan, Ltd. offers a range of pharmaceutical process R&D services and cGMP API manufacturing capabilities. Its clients include some of the world's largest generic and brand name pharmaceutical giants.

Medtronic first gained prominance as the inventer of the world's first cardiac pacemaker in 1957, and is today a leading medical devices company with 32,000 employees in 120 countries and US$10 billion in annual revenues (figures for year ending April 2005).

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