Taking Endovascular below-the-knee treatment to the next level

Globally, more than 200 million [1] people suffer from peripheral artery disease (PAD). Worse, nearly 50% of patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) currently undergo amputations [2], many of which could be prevented with new therapy options. Innovative approaches for treating CLI are needed to improve outcomes for patients struggling with PAD. 

Yesterday, at #VEITH19, we shared plans to conduct a global clinical trial called LIFE-BTK (pivotaL Investigation of saFety and Efficacy for BRS treatment Below The Knee) which will study the safety and efficacy of a new product called ESPRIT BTK, an Everolimus eluting bioresorbable scaffold (BRS), for the treatment of CLI in the advanced stages of PAD.

"After a five-year feasibility study in assessing treatment of arteries below-the-knee with a different version of this technology, the outcomes suggest bioresorbable devices have significant potential to become the favored therapy for CLI patients," said Professor Ramon Varcoe, MBBS MS FRACS Ph.D., University New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and one of the principal investigators in the trial. "This innovation offers the best of both worlds. It provides a strong scaffold structure and delivers antiproliferative drug, then disappears and is not an impediment for future interventions, surgery, or imaging."

I am excited to see how this technology can help this patient population and happy that Abbott is providing leadership and innovation in this space.

  1 Fowkes, Lancet 2013; 382: 1329-40

 2 https://www.amputee-coalition.org/resources/limb-loss-statistics/