News release

Stryker’s new partnership will develop flow diverter with active drug coating to advance aneurysm treatment

Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA – Jun 28, 2022 – Today, Stryker and Carmeda announced a partnership that will combine Stryker’s proven flow diverter technology with Carmeda’s active heparin coating for the treatment of brain aneurysms.

While flow diversion has become the standard of care for treatment of wide-necked and fusiform aneurysms, device-related clotting and the reliance on antiplatelet medications remain the greatest challenges in patient care. In recent years, others have tried to overcome these challenges with flow diverters with passive coatings and surface modifications which rely on biomimicry to attempt to hide the device from the body. Stryker’s flow diverter with active drug coating is anticipated to go beyond biomimicry, demonstrating the ability to locally downregulate multiple pathways in the clotting cascade.

“At the device surface, Stryker’s flow diverter with the Carmeda coating actively downregulates thrombin, a very potent platelet agonist and coagulation factor, demonstrating a significant reduction in clot formation in challenging bench models,” said Dr. Monika Killer-Oberpfalzer, Professor of Clinical Neurosciences at Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg.

Dr. Matt Gounis, Professor of Radiology at University of Massachusetts, presented his preclinical research on Stryker’s flow diverter with Carmeda’s active drug coating in a first-of-its-kind canine basilar model. “Our research shows an overall reduction in ischemic events compared to bare metal implants in pre-clinical animal models. This is the first time reduced ischemic events have been shown in the brain of animals.”

“Similar to the field of interventional cardiology, neurovascular will certainly progress from bare metal with passive surface modifications to active drug coatings. Early clinical experience suggests that currently available bare metal stents with passive surface modifications are not enough to safely move to aspirin-only antiplatelet therapy,” said Dr. Vitor Mendes Pereira, Professor of Neurosurgery, St Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto.

In the coronary stenting HOPE trial, the CARMEDA® BioActive Surface coating was tested under aspirin-only antiplatelet treatment in 200 patients with coronary artery lesions. “Stryker is driving innovation in flow diversion by leveraging the CARMEDA BioActive Surface coating. The promising results of the HOPE trial are encouraging for the future of aneurysm treatment with flow diverting stents,” said Dr. Ajay Wakhloo, Chief of Interventional Neuroradiology at Lahey Clinic.

Part of the Surpass family of flow diverters, Stryker’s latest innovation is being developed through extensive physician feedback and collaboration. “Stryker is poised to usher in a new era of technology to better serve our neurointerventional physicians,” said Mark Paul, President of Stryker’s Neurovascular division. “Our partnership with Carmeda signifies our commitment to bringing innovative life-saving technologies to patients and providers.”

Disclaimer: Stryker’s active drug-coated flow diverter is not currently approved or available for sale

About CARMEDA® BioActive Surface and Carmeda AB

The CARMEDA BioActive Surface is a highly durable coating technology based on non-eluting covalently linked heparin applied to stent wires. Heparin is both naturally occurring in the body and a trusted pharmaceutical used by physicians every day. The Carmeda heparin technology has been used in other applications for years, showing best-in-class hemocompatibility and long-term durability. Carmeda AB is a wholly owned subsidiary of W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.. More information is available at www.carmeda.se. CARMEDA® is a trademark of Carmeda AB.

About brain aneurysms

An aneurysm occurs when part of a blood vessel becomes weak, causing the vessel to balloon or bulge and fill with blood. Aneurysms can occur in any blood vessel in the body. However, brain aneurysms are the most life-threatening. If left untreated, the aneurysm may continue to weaken until it bursts and bleeds into the brain. Almost 500,000 deaths occur each year as a result of a brain aneurysm1.

About Stryker

Stryker is one of the world's leading medical technology companies and, together with its customers, is driven to make healthcare better. The company offers innovative products and services in Medical and Surgical, Neurotechnology, Orthopaedics and Spine that help improve patient and healthcare outcomes. Alongside its customers around the world, Stryker impacts more than 100 million patients annually. More information is available at www.stryker.com.

Media contact

Jennifer Conklin
Senior Group Manager, Marketing Communications
[email protected]