With percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedure volumes continuing to decline in the US and Europe, and coronary drug-eluting stents (DES) becoming commoditized as a result of increased competition and pricing pressures, some may wonder when (and where) the DES market, currently valued at about $1.3 billion in the US and about $4 billion worldwide, will bottom out. However, perhaps the more significant question is whether or not there is a next-generation technology in the pipeline with the ability to re-energize this space and return it to the growth track seen in years past. As is often the case, the answer is not a simple one. Although DES market leaders are spending millions developing next-generation products, it remains to be seen just how successful they will be and how much of a price premium they will be able to command.
Many of these new devices have improved stent platforms, including thinner struts and thinner, resorbable polymer coatings, designed to improve...