Abbott's Absorb stent not superior to other varieties, says study

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority capped the price of stents in February at Rs 30,000

A recent study has said that Abbott’s ‘fully-absorbable’ heart stent, named Absorb, is not superior to its Xience Everolimus-Eluting Stent (EES). Stents are mesh tubes used to treat blocked arteries. The study, by online resource on interventional cardiology TCTMD, was done with 5,500 patients who had implanted either Absorb or EES. 

The study comes at a time when the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has asked Abbot to prove its superiority if it wants a better price. The authority had capped the price of stents in February at Rs 30,000. After this, Abbott submitted a plea to the authority for withdrawing Absorb