Espicom Analysis - The Coronary Stent Market!

Hello and welcome once again to Espicom Pharmaceutical & Medical Analysis. Today's post highlights a brand new report analysing the prospects for the Coronary Stent Market, and which companies are developing the key technologies within it.

The development of the coronary stent market is dependent on the number of people with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) requiring treatment. The number of Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) procedures performed, the percentage of PCIs in which stents are used, the number of stents used in each procedure and average selling prices for stents all influence market values. In addition, whether a Bare Metal Stent (BMS) or Drug-Eluting Stent (DES) is used in the procedure impacts the market, as DESs command a much higher selling price than BMSs, while increased competition in the DES market has a major impact on the price companies can command for their DES products.

There are currently over 60 companies active in the coronary stent market, including 30 that offer DES products. However, four companies dominate this industry: Abbott, Boston Scientific, Cordis (part of Johnson & Johnson) and Medtronic. In addition, these companies are the only four to have DESs available in Japan or the US. These products are Abbott’s Xience everolimus-eluting stents, Boston Scientific’s Taxus paclitaxel-eluting stents, Cordis’ Cypher sirolimus-eluting stents and Medtronic’s Endeavor zotarolimus-eluting stents. Abbott’s Xience V DES is also offered as a private-label version by Boston Scientific, which markets the product as the Promus DES. Taking into account combined sales of Xience V and Promus, this product is the world’s best selling DES. Abbott is also global market leader for BMS products with its Multi-Link products.

A recovering sector...
The coronary stent sector was knocked back when, in 2006, there emerged safety fears regarding the use of the products when some longer-term clinical data indicated there was a small risk of late stent thrombosis for DES patients. It is believed this risk of late stent thrombosis relates to the use of a polymer on the DES and potentially the doses of drug used, both of which impair re-endothelialisation. While endothelialisation can take place within two months for a BMS, it can take up to a year for this process to be completed when a DES is used.

...Looking to a new generation of technology
The industry has responded with a range of new approaches, and the next-generation technologies have received much interest from the medical community due to their potential to address the problems of current coronary stents. These products would also be able to command a higher selling price than current stents and competition for the products would initially be limited. However, as relatively new products with little clinical and longer-term safety data, their potential for success cannot be assured. It therefore remains to be seen if they can reinvigorate the market for coronary stents and provide an effective alternative to current products.

The full,in-depth report was written by Joanne Maddox, a senior medical market analyst for Espicom Business Intelligence. If you would like to read more on the development into  the Coronary Stent Market, to see what is included in the full report, or to purchase this detailed analysis, please follow our link below:

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Avastin - The 1st VEGF Inhibitor!

Welcome back to Epsicom Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices Analysis. Todays post concerns the cancer drug Avastin, the first VEGF inhibitor, and its position in the oncology market relative to its competitors.

The Threats To Avastin report was researched and written by the 4D Pharma team. The report’s editor is Espicom’s senior pharmaceutical analyst, Sue Viney.

As an angiogenesis inhibitor, Avastin is set to become the most successful cancer treatment to date and one of the leading drugs with sales likely to exceed US$9 billion by 2015.

Since its launch in 2004, Avastin has achieved strong growth culminating in sales of US$5,731 million (SFr 6.2 billion) in 2009. Not only is Avastin now Roche’s top-selling oncology product, ahead of both MabThera/Rituxan (rituximab) and Herceptin (trastuzumab), but its sales exceed those of every other cancer product on the market.

In 2009, solid growth was seen across all markets, driven by continued uptake in colorectal cancer (CRC), breast cancer (BC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the US, metastatic BC was the main growth driver, helped by launches for the new indications of glioblastoma and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Strong growth was seen in the EU in all indications. In the Japanese market, Avastin sales growth was particularly strong with continued substantial uptake in CRC, enhanced by its recent approval for NSCLC.

While its first-to-market status and Roche’s experience in the oncology sector have provided a sound basis for growth, a number of related angiogenesis products have been launched and many more are on the horizon. What threat do they present to Avastin’s status and when will their impact be felt?

If you would like to read more on Avastin the first angiogenesis inhibitor in the oncology market, to see what is included in the report, or to purchase this detailed analysis, please follow our link:

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Molecular Imaging Advances!

Welcome to Espicom Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices Analysis, providing news of reports within the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Our clients include senior management in the healthcare industry; the services, investment and financial sectors; and government.

The Advances in Molecular Imaging report report was researched and written by Joanne Maddox, a senior medical market analyst at Espicom.

A comprehensive 258-page review, with extensive company, product and research evaluations in all major molecular imaging (MI) areas, including nuclear, near infrared/optical imaging, ultrasound and MRI for both clinical and pre-clinical applications.

The market for molecular imaging technology is facing a number of challenges. The chronic shortage of key radiopharmaceuticals and negative US reimbursement developments have affected the SPECT sector, while an uncertain economic future has impacted buyers' willingness to invest in capital equipment. Advanced MI solutions offer real clinical and research benefits but, in current market conditions, exactly when the technologies will realise their potential is open to question.

Where does this leave the companies and organisations that are investing US billions to develop products?

Current research into molecular imaging advances involves different fields, including target discovery, chemistry, cell biology, disease modelling, imaging, data processing and clinical research. While some key molecular targets in certain diseases are well established, newer targets, chemical ligands and sensing technologies wait to be developed. In addition, companies are focusing on translational research, i.e. developing and marketing small animal, pre-clinical MI systems with the aim of translating this technology to human use in the future. For example, in cancer research, animal models of cancer are making it possible to perform studies that are difficult or impossible to perform in humans. In addition, imaging small animals can help assess the effectiveness of new instruments and therapeutic technologies such as radiation therapy and directed drug therapies. Currently, most R&D into MI is focused on clinical applications in cancer, neurological and cardiovascular diseases.

Despite the short-term factors that are likely to impact growth in the MI market, there are strong opportunities in this area. The increasing incidence of cancer, cardiovascular and neurological diseases means that demand for faster and more accurate diagnosis, as well as drug development and pre-clinical study efforts, will continue to accelerate in the coming years. In addition, MI technologies will become more widely adopted as reimbursement increases, clinical evidence is established as to their benefits and new technological innovations continue to be brought to the market.

If you would like to read more about this molecular imaging advances report, and what is included, or to purchase the full report, please click on our link:

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