Research In Brief

Abbott's ABSORB trial: Abbott launches the second phase of the ABSORB clinical trial of its bioabsorbable everolimus-eluting coronary stent. The trial will enroll 80 patients at 10 centers in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The first patient was enrolled at Onze Lieve Vrouw Ziekenhuis Hospital in Aalst, Belgium, the company announced March 24. The company has enhanced the deliverability and vessel support of the stent since the first phase of ABSORB, which treated 30 patients with coronary artery disease. At two years post-procedure, the stents implanted in phase I were completely absorbed by the patients' bodies. In phase one, the adverse event rate was 3.6% after two years post-implant with no stent thromboses. There were no new major adverse events from six months to two years (1"The Gray Sheet" Oct. 29, 2007, p. 6)