Stephen WL Lee (Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong) presented two-year optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings and three-year clinical follow up from the EGO COMBO study of Orbus Neich’s Combo dual therapy stent, which is the only drug-eluting stent with active EPC capture technology, at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting (13–17 September, Washington, USA). The data provided further evidence to support the healing benefits of the stent.
Lee says: “This is the first study to assess the healing profile of a dual therapy stent by OCT. The Combo stent’s unique approach shows early healing benefits and stability over the long-term. The results demonstrate no neo-atherosclerosis observed by OCT at 24 months, and no late restenosis or stent thrombosis beyond 36 months. The Combo stent is the only drug-eluting stent that exhibits neointima regression from nine months to 24 months. This is an indication of true vessel healing.”
A press release report that the latest evidence surrounding the Combo Stent’s active endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) capture was also presented by Michael Haude (Lukaskrankenhaus, Neuss, Germany), who demonstrated how the Combo Stent uses a bound antibody to capture EPCs and promotes accelerated endothelial coverage. He notes: “The Combo stent sets a new standard for stenting. With the dual therapy approach of the Combo stent, the abluminal sirolimus release from a bioresorbable polymer matrix controls the restenosis and neointimal proliferation, whilst the luminal surface is coated with an antibody that enables an earlier and more mature healing of the stented lesion. Delayed healing is of continued concern in conventional drug-eluting stent today as it leads to stent thrombosis and, in the long-term, to neo-atherosclerosis. The Combo stent helps to address these concerns and may offer a long-term solution.”
