US Food and Drug Administration has approved Abbott’s Xience V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

Xience V is the only drug eluting stent to have demonstrated superiority over Boston Scientific's Taxus paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system in two randomized head-to-head clinical trials. Xience V will be launched in the United States immediately.

According to John M. Capek, Ph.D., executive vice president, Medical Devices, Abbott Xience V represents an important treatment advance for the estimated 13 million people in the United States suffering from coronary artery disease, and we believe Xience V will quickly become the new standard for drug eluting stents given its outstanding clinical results.

The Xience V drug coated stent is used to treat coronary artery disease by propping open a narrowed or blocked artery and releasing the drug, everolimus, in a controlled manner to prevent the artery from becoming blocked again following a stent procedure. Coronary artery disease occurs when plaque build-up narrows the arteries and reduces blood flow to the heart, which can lead to chest pain or a heart attack.