OrbusNeich's Genous™ Technology Effectively Promotes Endothelialization and Reduces Thrombogenicity

HONG KONG, March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- OrbusNeich today announced the publication of a review article about the company's Genous technology in the February edition of Minerva Cardioangiologica. The article presents ex vivo and preclinical data showing that the endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) capture technology employed by both the company's Genous Stent and Combo Dual Therapy Stent effectively promotes endothelialization and reduces thrombogenicity to address the challenge of delayed arterial healing.

Data from an ex vivo arteriovenous (AV) shunt model of human circulating blood (Larsen et al.) showed significantly less thrombus accumulation associated with the Genous Stent versus a bare metal stent (BMS). In addition, polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis, confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed increased expression of specific endothelial and thrombotic markers in cells deposited on the Genous Stent compared to those deposited on the BMS.

Pre-clinical studies in a porcine coronary model investigating the Combo Dual Therapy Stent (Granada et al.) showed that the Combo Stent was associated with lower neointimal hyperplasia and stenosis, lower inflammation and fewer giant cells on the stent struts compared to the Cypher® sirolimus eluting stent and the XIENCE™ V everolimus eluting stent.

"Drug eluting stents, or DES, are correlated with delayed healing of the treated artery," said Renu Virmani, M.D., of the CVPath Institute Inc. in Gaithersburg, Md., and corresponding author of the publication. "The data presented here confirm the Genous technology's therapeutic concept of rapid endothelialization driven by EPC capture to accelerate vessel healing. Furthermore, the Combo Dual Therapy Stent, which combines the pro-healing Genous technology with a drug elution, is currently being evaluated clinically, and recently presented data indicate the promise for Combo to become the first DES that actually heals."

About the Genous Technology

Genous is OrbusNeich's patented EPC capture technology that promotes the accelerated natural healing of the vessel wall after the implantation of blood-contact devices such as stents. The technology consists of an antibody surface coating that attracts EPCs circulating in the blood to the device to form an endothelial layer that provides protection against thrombosis and modulates restenosis.

The Genous Stent, which has been commercially available in more than 60 countries since 2005, has been proven as a safe, effective alternative to drug eluting stents and is supported by data from more than 7,000 patients in company-sponsored clinical studies. There is a growing body of evidence from multiple clinical studies that the Genous Stent is effective for patients who are non-responsive to or cannot tolerate long-term dual antiplatelet therapy.

About OrbusNeich

OrbusNeich is a global company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical devices for the treatment of vascular diseases. Current products are the world's first pro-healing stent, the Genous Stent, as well as other stents and balloons marketed under the names of Azule™, R stent, Scoreflex™, Sapphire™, Sapphire II and Sapphire NC. Development stage products include the Combo Dual Therapy Stent, the only dual therapy stent to both accelerate endothelial coverage and control neo-intimal proliferation through the combination of the Genous pro-healing technology with an abluminal sirolimus drug elution. OrbusNeich is headquartered in Hong Kong and has operations in Shenzhen, China; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Hoevelaken, The Netherlands; and Tokyo, Japan. OrbusNeich supplies medical devices to interventional cardiologists in more than 60 countries. For more information, visit www.OrbusNeich.com.

Follow OrbusNeich on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OrbusNeich, and learn more about the company and the Genous technology on OrbusNeich's YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/OrbusNeichMedia.

SOURCE OrbusNeich