Cook Medical enrolls first patient in Formula PTX Balloon Expandable Renal Stent trial

European trial explores treating renal artery blockages with a balloon expandable paclitaxel-eluting renal stent

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ( ANPI, TSX: ANP) today announced Cook Medical, a license holder of Angiotech's paclitaxel technology, has enrolled the first patient in its landmark Formula(TM) PTX(R) clinical trial. The trial is the first of its kind to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a paclitaxel-eluting stent to treat renal artery disease, the narrowing of the arteries that supply blood to the kidneys. The multi-center, randomized trial plans to enroll 120 patients at sites across Europe. The trial utilizes Cook's Formula Renal Stent, which is designed with a very low profile that may help it cross tightly blocked vessels for placement into diseased renal arteries.

"Following Cook Medical's success with the Zilver PTX, we chose to be involved in the clinical trial for the Formula PTX Balloon Expandable Renal Stent," said Professor Dierk Scheinert, Angiology and Cardiology Specialist at participating hospital, Park-Krankenhaus Leipzig-South. "Given the early success of the US REFORM clinical trial evaluating the Formula Balloon Expandable Stent, we remain very excited about the potential of a drug-eluting renal stent. Providing physicians with a greater range of devices will ultimately help patients receive the best possible treatment options."