Vapi firm becomes India's first to take on Abbott in biodegradeable stents

Meril Life Sciences is first Indian firm to get nod for bio-resorbable cardiac scaffold

Meril Life Sciences, a medical devices company based out of the nondescript town of Vapi, has emerged as a challenger to multinational giant Abbott in the category of bioresorbable cardiac scaffold (BVS), following the health ministry’s recent approval of its product.

It has developed MeRes100, now recognised as India’s first indigenously made BVS — a naturally dissolving cardiac stent made out of biodegradable material and used for clearing blockages in arteries of the heart. While Meril has developed BVS for both coronary and peripheral arteries, for starters, it has received approval for the coronary variant.

The only other BVS available in the