As co-ordinator of the European project 'ReBioStent', Ceram, the international materials technology company, is pleased to announce that the project, to develop new biomaterials and new arterial stents, has been awarded Euro 5.874M by the European Union.
With collaboration from fourteen partners from academia and industry, the EU FP7 project aims to develop multifunctional biomaterials for reinforced bioresorbable drug-eluting stents. These newly developed biomaterials will be drug-loaded, bioresorbable and, compared to current bare metal stents, will have improved mechanical properties, thereby reducing the risk of in-stent restenosis and thrombosis. The new biomaterials will also offer surface functionalisation to promote rapid endothelialisation, based on which, new bioresorbable stents will be developed for clinical trial.
Dr. Xiang Zhang, Principal Consultant, Healthcare at Ceram, says:
"At the end of this three-year project, the group will have developed novel materials and new bioresorable stents, helping to place the EU as a world leader in both biomaterials and stent design and development.
"There are still problems associated with existing on-market stents, from restenosis that occurs in 30% of cases to issues with them interfering with traditional re-interventional techniques such as bypass graft surgery.
"What's more, after the first six to twelve months of implantation when initimal hyperplasia and acute chronic recoil is completed, there is clinically no need for permanent coronary scaffolding. Being able to produce a bioresorbable drug-eluting stent, using the biomaterials that the project aims to develop, will be groundbreaking for the healthcare industry."
Ceram is currently working on other innovative materials and technologies for this sector, including inorganic controlled release and novel bioceramic materials, including toughened ceramics and ceramic polymer hybrids for bone repair/replacement activities.
