The prototype of taxol-eluting stent (RELEASE-T series), developed by Relisys Medical Devices, is expected to be launched by Dec 2004. It has been evaluated by the Cardiology team of CARE Hospitals in animals at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (Hyderabad). The stent is under clinical evaluation at three hospitals in India-All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS-New Delhi), Armed Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (AFMC- Pune) and CARE Hospitals (Hyderabad).

So far about hundred patients have received the stents and are completing 6-month follow-up in next two moths, and the stents can be available to patients all over the country by the end of this year. Preliminary data confirms the safety and efficacy of the product. Relisys is acquiring the infrastructure necessary for drug coating of stents, working on new drugs and is to address the drawbacks in the current technologies.

Currently, about 20 to 25 per cent of stents used in the country are developed and manufactured by Indian companies and the rest being imported from other countries. The share of Indian stents is expected to increase due to comparable quality and lower costs in comparison with international brands.

Indian medical device manufacturers have been able to keep pace with the evolving technologies by developing collaboration with Indian and international institutes and hospitals.