April 24, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – UAB will soon offer the new CYPHER Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent, the first drug-coated stent to receive marketing approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of blocked coronary arteries.

Cardiovascular stents are tiny, metal scaffolding-like structures used to prop open clogged heart vessels. The new CYPHER stent, approved today for the treatment of previously untreated coronary blockage, was developed to address the problem of in-stent restenosis, or reblockage, which occurs in as many as 30 percent of patients who receive a bare metal stent. The new stent is coated with the drug sirolimus, which is slowly released in to the vessel lining to prevent scar tissue growth through the openings in the stent mesh, which frequently leads to restenosis.

“The CYPHER stent provides new hope for patients with challenging case histories,” says interventional cardiologist Greg Chapman, M.D. Chapman was the lead investigator for the clinical trials conducted at UAB to test the drug-coated stent. “We are pleased to provide this advanced stent therapy in our community and to be one of the first hospitals in the United States to offer this effective treatment to patients.”

Results of large-scale studies involving nearly 1,400 patients worldwide show that the CYPHER stent, manufactured by Cordis Corp., a Johnson & Johnson company, reduces the incidence of restenosis by more than 90 percent when compared with a bare metal stent.

Nearly 1600 stenting procedures are performed annually at UAB and the availability of the new stent is expected to generate widespread interest. Currently, the stent is only approved for blockages in smaller vessels – 2.5 to 3 mm – where restenosis is more likely to occur. Chapman says this may offer patients with smaller blockages new treatment options who might otherwise have only been treated with medications in the past.