MIV Provides Study Update on Its Ultra-Thin Protea Stent Platform

July 17, 2008 - MIV Therapeutics Inc. today said its Protea ultra-thin cobalt-alloy bare metal stent has excelled in animal studies, reportedly showing the Protea is statistically superior to one of the best and most deliverable cobalt-alloy bare metal stents on the market.

The Protea is the company’s next generation bare metal stent with a strut thickness of 65 microns, a fixed geometry and uniform cell size for homogeneous delivery of drug to the local tissue, and a superior surface finish when compared to currently available cobalt alloy stents.

At one month following deployment, quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) showed percent diameter stenosis was significantly less for Protea (2±5 percent vs. 17±16 percent, p=0.032). By histomorphometry, intima thickness (0.11±0.05 mm vs. 0.23±0.11 mm, p=0.003) and percent area stenosis (19±1 vs. 32±11 percent, respectively, p=0.004) were also significantly lower for Protea. The strut injury score was low and similar between the two groups. QCA percent stenosis; intima thickness; and percent area stenosis of overlapping Protea stents were 3±3 percent, 0.13±0.02 mm, and 22±4 percent, respectively. Stable fibrocellular neointimal incorporation of all stents including overlapped Protea, with complete endothelialization and minimal inflammation, was seen at one month.

The Protea is used as the bare metal stent platform for the VESTAsync drug eluting stent in the VESTASYNC II trial. The company said in addition to a superior surface finish due to a proprietary finishing technique and thinner struts, the surface area of the Protea was designed to be the same as that of the GenX, which allows the company to use the same dose and drug delivery system for both stents.

For more information: www.mivtherapeutics.com