Although tiny in size, stents rake in big money. There is an estimated $5 billion market for these small tubes that hold coronary arteries open during and after angioplasty.
One company working to capture a share of this market is Svelte Medical Systems. Svelte was founded in 2007 by a father and his two sons. The three men are doctors who own over 200 patents between them. Svelte’s mission is to improve stent deliverability, reduce cost and improve stent safety compared to currently available products. The company’s first product is a low-profile “Stent-On-a-Wire” system that reduces the number of steps involved in the stenting procedure. According to Mark Pomeranz, President and CEO of Svelte, the system is designed to save money and minimize trauma to the patient. Clinical trials have already begun in Europe. Svelte is also developing a non-inflammatory drug-eluting version of the stent.
In this video, Pomeranz discusses Svelte’s low-profile balloon expanding stent technology at the 2010 OneMedForum in San Francisco.