Angiotech's Stent Patent Issued.VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 18, 1998-- Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). :ANP ANP atrial natriuretic peptide. ANP atrial natriuretic peptide. ANP Atrial natriuretic peptide, see there ) announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent to Angiotech for the use of paclitaxel-coated stents in the treatment of body passageway narrowings. "Coating stents with a potent antiproliferative agent like paclitaxel paclitaxel /pac·li·tax·el/ (pak?li-tak´sel) an antineoplastic that promotes and stabilizes polymerization of microtubules, isolated from the Pacific yew tree (Taxus brevifolia); has been shown in animal models to significantly reduce the incidence of luminal obstruction and restenosis," said William L. Hunter, MD, Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Angiotech. The patent, issued on February 10, 1998 (US Patent Number 5,716,981), provides for the use of stents coated with paclitaxel, or an analogue or derivative thereof, and a polymeric carrier. Paclitaxel-coated stents are being developed in the treatment of vascular, biliary, urethral, esophageal and tracheal/bronchial diseases. The lead product under development is a paclitaxel-coated coronary stent designed to reduce the incidence of re-narrowing of blood vessels (restenosis), a common result of balloon angioplasty and stent insertion. This product is being developed pursuant to the $32M co- exclusive license agreement with Boston Scientific Corporation and Cook Incorporation, two leading multinational device manufacturers. To complement the Company's product development efforts in the local treatment of vascular and nonvascular diseases, Angiotech has recently licensed rights to one issued U.S. patent from the National Institutes of Health relating to the use of paclitaxel and other microtubule microtubule Tubular structure enclosed by a membrane found within animal and plant cells. Of varying length, they have several functions. They help give shape to many cells and are major components of cilia and flagella, participate in the formation of the spindle during stabilizing agents for the treatment of vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and restenosis, three issued U.S. patents from Harvard University relating to the application of an agent which inhibits smooth muscle proliferation to the outside (adventitia adventitia /ad·ven·ti·tia/ (ad?ven-tish´e-ah) 1. adventitial. 2. tunica adventitia. ad·ven·ti·tia n. ) of a body passageway (e.g., blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary genitourinary /gen·i·to·uri·nary/ (jen?i-to-u´ri-nar-e) pertaining to the genital and urinary organs. gen·i·to·u·ri·nar·y adj. Abbr. tract) and one patent application from the University of Washington relating to perivascular perivascular /peri·vas·cu·lar/ (-vas´ku-lar) near or around a vessel. perivascular around a vessel. perivascular cellulitis (outer surface) application of antithrombotic (e.g., heparin) or anti-proliferative agents for the treatment of vascular diseases. Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a Canadian pharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of novel treatments for chronic inflammatory and angiogenesis-dependent diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, restenosis, cancer, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis. CONTACT: Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. Cathryn E. Bowden, 604/ 221-7676 http://www.angiotech.com e-mail: info@angio.com or Russell-Welsh, Inc. Eric Yee, 650/ 312-0700, ext. 19 Media Contact |
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