The number of percutaneous coronary transluminal angioplasty (PTCA) procedures performed between January and March (Q1) this year in Western Europe was measured at 196,202 – a 0.3% increase since fourth quarter 2008 and 1.2% lower than the same quarter one year earlier.
Procedures with a stent accounted for 88.8% of the total number of PCTAs – which is stable since the past quarter. The overall stent market size across Europe has grown at a conservative rate compared to the previous quarter (up 0.4%), but has contracted by 1% compared to the same period one year earlier. In Q1 2009 the stent market size has been measured at just below the 254,000-unit level, driving a turnover of approximately US$250 million. These are the main findings from the latest European Cardiovascular Monitor (ECVM) report, released in June. The report is produced on a quarterly basis by BIBA Research, the UK-based provider of market intelligence for the medical device industry, with data gathered from a consumption-based panel of over 200 hospitals across Western Europe.
According to the report, the drug-eluting stent (DES) penetration rate in Western Europe was at 51.9% in Q1 2009, just 0.3% higher than the previous quarter. However, this represents the sixth consecutive increase of the DES penetration across Western Europe since Q3 2007. A drop in the average price, product development and new clinical trial outcomes continue to be the three main drivers for the DES penetration recovery across Western Europe.
The Netherlands recorded the highest over-the-quarter DES penetration increase (up 1.7%), followed by Belgium (up 1.1%). Finland, France, Germany and Norway all increased their DES penetration levels within one percentage point. All the other countries recorded moderate variations over the previous quarter, the report reads.
The ECVM also includes information on drug-eluting stent market, stent pricing, balloons, guiding catheters, and guidewires.
The full report will be published in the August 2009 issue of Cardiovascular News International. Click here for a free subscription.
