Conor CoStar Stent Gets CE Mark

Conor Medsystems of Menlo Park, CA said Feb. 17 that it received European marketing clearance for its drug-infused CoStar stent, according to the Associated Press. The device received a CE Mark, meaning it complies with European regulatory standards. Best-selling stents are coated with drugs to help prevent the artery from reclogging by keeping tissue from growing through the mesh. Conor partner Biotronik AG will immediately launch the stent in Europe. However, Conor and Canadian specialty drug maker Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. are locked in legal battles in several countries over Angiotech’s patents for using the cancer drug paclitaxel to coat stents. Angiotech licenses and supplies the drug to Boston Scientific to coat its Taxus line of stents. The company claims that the CoStar, which uses paclitaxel, is different from other drug-coated stents, in that it uses tiny reservoirs built into the stent to release the drug. Conor is currently running a late-stage clinical trial on the stent to support a Food and Drug Administration