Boston Scientific has acquired Labcoat Limited, a privately held, development-stage drug-eluting stent (DES) developer based in Galway, Ireland. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Labcoat develops a technology for coating DES that uses metered droplets of a biodegradable polymer and drug formulation to create a thin (<1 micron) coating confined to the outer surface of a coronary stent.

According to the Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific, the proprietary technology is designed to reduce the amount of polymer and drug to which the vessel wall is exposed. Once the drug has been delivered, the biodegradable coating reabsorbs, leaving behind the bare-metal stent.

Labcoat has completed a clinical trial with its Jactax Stent, which is a Boston Scientific bare-metal Liberte stent coated on its outer surface with a biodegradable polymer containing the drug paclitaxel. Clinical data presented at TCT 2008 concerned both restenosis and strut coverage at nine months after implantation. The company said the data will be used to support CE Mark submission, which is expected to occur in the first half of this year.  

Boston Scientific said it plans to evaluate the Labcoat technology for use on both its paclitaxel and everolimus families of DES.