Abbott begins enrolment for new Xience comparative study

Abbott has commenced enrolment for a new clinical study evaluating the effectiveness of its Xience coronary stent systems, when compared to surgical options.

The company has enrolled its first US patients for Excel, a global prospective multicentre randomised trial that aims to showcase the safety and efficacy of Xience Prime and Xience V compared to coronary artery bypass grafting.

It will ultimately involve more than 2,600 patients suffering from unprotected left main coronary artery disease, a high-risk subset of coronary artery disease for which surgery is typically the only treatment option.

The everolimus-eluting stent systems are currently available commercially in Europe, though they remain restricted to investigational use in the US.

Dr Charles Simonton, divisional vice-president for medical affairs and chief medical officer at Abbott Vascular, said: "By leveraging the established safety profile of Xience V and Xience Prime, we will evaluate whether these stents can become a new treatment option for this patient group."

This comes after the company began a new study evaluating the efficacy of the Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold for critical limb ischemia last month.