Safety and Efficacy of the ZoMaxx™ Drug-Eluting Stent System in Coronary Arteries

Coronary artery disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The American Heart Association estimates that 571,000 Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) procedures were performed in 2001 in the United States and that 80% to 90% of these patients also underwent stent placement. Despite the effectiveness of intracoronary stents in maintaining a larger luminal diameter as compared to angioplasty alone, 15 to 35% in-stent restenosis occurs within 6 to 9 months after stent placement. While stents can reduce restenosis by blocking vascular recoil and remodeling, mechanical intervention alone is incapable of treating the biological problem of neointimal hyperplasia. Various approaches have been used to treat in-stent restenosis, including balloon angioplasty, repeat stenting, rotational and directional atherectomy, laser, and local delivery of radiation at the time of stenting (brachytherapy). However, these techniques add complexity to the interventional procedure and have not had documented success in preventing in-stent restenosis. Drug-eluting stents (DES) using antiproliferative agents delivered via a polymer based stent platform have shown significant success in the reduction of restenosis in de novo lesions over the traditional bare metal stents in randomized clinical trials. Local delivery of the pharmacological agent allows for controlled delivery of high drug concentrations to the targeted tissue while minimizing systemic drug effects. The ZoMaxx II Trial represents the first US study of the ZoMaxx(TM) Drug Eluting Coronary Stent System to evaluate the potential benefits of the local application of the zotarolimus drug in combination with a phosphorylcholine (PC)-coated tri-metal stent. ZoMaxx™ Drug-Eluting Stent System is an Investigational device. Limited by Federal (U.S.) law to investigational use only.