Minimal Growth Expected for Global Coronary Stent Market

The global coronary stents market for coronary artery disease (CAD) is set to increase in value from $4.89 billion in 2013 to $5.62 billion by 2020, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2 percent, predicts research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The company’s latest report claims this minimal growth will occur across 10 major markets (the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, Brazil, China and India), and be driven primarily by rising CAD prevalence, attributable to risk factors including diabetes, hypertension, obesity and tobacco use.

Stent technology innovations, in terms of platform, material and coating, also will boost the market over the forecast period, along with the anticipated approval and launch of bioabsorbable stents (BAS) in the United States, Japan and China.

“Drug-eluting stents (DES) are currently considered the gold standard of treatment for CAD,” said Rob Littlefield, MSc, GlobalData’s senior analyst covering medical devices. “Since the development of the first DES generation, medical device manufacturers have improved on these stents with durable polymer coatings, partially or fully biodegradable platforms, polymer-free systems and other innovative features. As a result, the new generation of DES will help drive the coronary stent market over the coming years, alongside emerging BAS technology. BAS offers several benefits, such as eliminating the need for stent-in-stent procedures, and improvements in its design could eventually enable it to replace DES as the standard of treatment for CAD.”

However, Littlefield contends that a number of obstacles will prevent these technologies from achieving more impressive revenue growth by 2020. These include post-procedural complications of DES systems and slow BAS adoption following its anticipated launch.

“Despite improved DES technology, concerns remain over patients’ long-term safety. For example, increasing use of permanent polymers in drug-eluting systems can increase the risk of chronic inflammation and local hypersensitivity reactions, leading to late and very late thrombosis,” he noted in a news release. “Nevertheless, DES will remain the dominant player in the coronary stent arena, causing slower BAS adoption. The latter’s reduced uptake can also be attributed to the current lack of robust, long-term clinical data, physicians’ preference for using devices with which they are more familiar, and the need for appropriate implantation techniques and guidelines.”