Unique Cardiovascular Treatment Readied for Global Market: Proprietary Paccocath(R) Technology is the Only Drug Eluting Balloon with Cli...( WARRENDALE Pa. May 18 /- MEDRAD Inter...),Health

WARRENDALE, Pa., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- MEDRAD Interventional(TM)/Possis(R) today announced that it has reached key milestones in bringing the Paccocath(R) Technology closer to market as an option for the over 14 million patients in the United States and Europe who suffer from Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). These milestones include the selection of physician investigators for U.S. clinical trials and the completion of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.

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In routine treatment of stenotic or occluded vessels, doctors widen the narrowed vessel using an angioplasty balloon catheter. In some cases, a stent, which is a metal scaffold, is then placed to hold the vessel open. However, these treatments may have limited effectiveness since, for most patients, the vessels often re-occlude within a year after treatment.

The Paccocath technology is a proprietary drug matrix applied to the balloon of an angioplasty catheter. When the catheter is inflated to dilate the narrowed vessel, an anti-restenotic drug is released directly to the diseased area. Clinical results to date show that using the Paccocath technology during an angioplasty procedure keeps the vessels open wider over time compared to standard angioplasty and published reports (1) of other current standard-of-care therapies.

Cotavance(TM) is the brand name of the drug-eluting balloon angioplasty catheter that is currently being developed by MEDRAD Interventional(TM)/Possis(R) that utilizes the Paccocath technology. MEDRAD is in the process of obtaining CE Mark certification and seeking FDA approval for its Cotavance product. William Gray, M.D. of Columbia University (New York, New
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