Abbott Begins ABSORB IV Trial To Test Quality Of Life & Cost Savings Of BVS

(RTTNews) - Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Monday said it has begun the ABSORB IV trial, which will evaluate whether Absorb Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold or BVS is more cost-effective and offers a higher quality of life than a best-in-class, permanent, metallic drug eluting stent in patients with coronary artery disease. BVS is an investigational medical device used for the heart that functions like a stent but dissolves over time. The study will enroll nearly 3,000 people with coronary artery disease, mostly in the United States. ABSORB IV is the first randomized heart stent trial to prospectively measure angina as a primary endpoint at one year. The other primary endpoint evaluates long-term clinical safety and performance based on the change in target lesion failure from one to five years. The company said that the data from the ABSORB IV trial will be combined with ABSORB III trial data to create a population of more than 5,000 people studied in the U.S.