Stent: It's official, stents made in India are as good as the best | India News

After much controversy over the quality of stents made in India, another study comparing an Indian stent to the largest stent brand in the world concluded that it is equally good. On Monday, the results of a 10-year study comparing the clinical results of the Indian Choice PC stent to those of the market leader, Xience Stents from the American company Abbott, showed that they were also good. A study presented two months ago also concluded that another Indian stent, Supra Flex, was as efficient as Xience.

At a scientific session organized by the American Heart Association in Chicago, German cardiologists presented the results of an in-depth follow-up of 2,603 ​​randomized patients undergoing treatment with two new-generation stents – everolimus and elimination Xience. sirolimus Yukon Choice – and a first. generation of sirolimus eluting the Cypher stent. Cypher is no longer on the market. The study published in the AHA Journal showed that there was no difference in results between the two new generation stents.

In February 2017, the government had capped the price of stents leading to a three-quarters reduction in the price of drug-eluting stents. Several multinational stents had threatened to remove their stents from India, claiming that they were superior to the Indians and therefore deserved a higher price. Several cardiologists have also questioned the quality of Indian stents. However, with studies showing that Indian stents are as good as foreigners, cardiologists seem to have changed course.

"This is the kind of study we need – large, long-term randomized studies. More and more Indian companies should conduct such studies to establish their credibility internationally. Every stent has to be proven, "said Dr. Ashok Seth, Head of Cardiology at the Fortis Hospital Group. He added that the study had also shown that there was no difference between stents with biodegradable polymer coating and permanent polymer coating, which argued in favor of higher price of stents coated with biodegradable polymer.

Dr. Upendra Kaul, president of the Batra Heart Center, who had launched the first year-old study comparing Supra Flex at Xience, with Professor Patrick Serruys of the Netherlands, pointed out that even with good new-generation stents 3% of patients still had a heart attack. and need restenosis every year. "Additional research is underway to reduce this 3%," said Dr. Kaul.

According to Dr. Kaul, Yukon stents are made in India from German technology, while Supra Flex is a totally native stent. In an editorial in Euro Intervention last year, Dr. Kaul wrote, "Cardiologists have the impression that imported stents are of superior quality, which is passed on to patients." Indian companies must prove to cardiologists and patients that their products are as safe and effective as those of multinationals.

Until now, no brand of drug-eluting stents in the world has proven superior to other brands in the market, Dr. Kaul and Seth said.