Medical Breakthrough in High-Value Consumables: Firehawk Stent Achieves World's Lowest Drug Load

“Cardiac Stents”: This topic is likely familiar to many. For families who have actually undergone cardiac stent implantation, a major impression is often the high cost. The Chinese market was once dominated by expensive imported brands, keeping surgical prices elevated. However, this situation may soon change, as domestically produced cardiac stents have now reached the global forefront.

Recently, international clinical trials have confirmed that the "Firehawk" coronary drug-eluting stent, independently developed by Shanghai MicroPort Medical, matches the efficacy of the internationally leading Xience stent. Due to its use of the minimal drug dosage, Firehawk has achieved the highest level of safety. Currently, Firehawk has received approval from the relevant authorities in the European Union.

This international clinical trial was conducted jointly by 21 institutions across 10 countries and regions. The results were published in The Lancet, a world-leading medical journal. This marks the first time in nearly 200 years since its founding that The Lancet has featured a Chinese medical device.

“The Lancet” Publishes Firehawk Clinical Trial

The Firehawk stent is indicated for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the treatment of coronary heart disease. According to data from Zhiyan Consulting, a total of 753,000 PCI procedures were performed nationwide in China in 2017, with an average of 1.47 stents implanted per patient. Over the past 17 years, the growth rate of PCI procedures has been 13.0%. This indicates that the cardiac stent market has substantial capacity and exhibits a growth trend.

So, what are the key technical advantages of FireHawk?

Currently, the latest generation of coronary stents is the drug-eluting stent. Compared with existing drug-eluting stents, the Firehawk stent has the lowest drug load, which is less than one-third of that of other stents. This represents a significant technological breakthrough.

To achieve a low drug load, the Huoying stent innovatively features groove designs on the strut walls and utilizes a fully bioabsorbable polymer coating. In simple terms, the Huoying stent employs laser engraving to precisely dispense the drug into the grooves, which are then tightly sealed, thereby enhancing drug elution efficacy.

Fire Hawk

Image from the official website of Shanghai MicroPort Medical

Reducing the drug payload can effectively minimize the occurrence of potential adverse events in the later stages, significantly shorten the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT)—which carries a high risk of bleeding and leads to elevated treatment costs—and reduce the usage period of antiplatelet agents after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), thereby alleviating the burden on patients. Therefore, a lower drug payload translates to improved safety.

FireHawk’s developer, Shanghai MicroPort Medical (Group) Co., Ltd., currently focuses primarily on cardiovascular interventional products, orthopedic medical devices, and diabetes management devices. The domestic market for high-value medical consumables in China is experiencing rapid growth. Among these segments, cardiovascular consumables and orthopedic consumables represent the largest industry scale and highest output value.