Pharmacomechanical thrombectomy procedure adoption will accelerate over the next five years due to growing physician interest in treating deep vein thrombosis.

June 25, 2009—Waltham, Massachusetts—According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, pharmacomechanical thrombectomy (PMT) procedure adoption will accelerate over the next five years due to growing physician interest in treating deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Although the ATTRACT (Acute Venous Thrombosis: Thrombus Removal With Adjunctive Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis) trial, which will compare catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) to PMT in the treatment of iliofemoral DVT, will not be completed until approximately 2014, early experience with PMT in this indication is promising. MRG’s US Markets for Clot Management Devices 2009 report finds that PMT procedure volumes will thus undergo strong growth through 2013.

PMT procedures are still relatively new. Currently, four PMT devices are being used and/or investigated for the treatment of DVT: MEDRAD Interventional/Possis Medical’s AngioJet Power Pulse Spray, Bacchus Vascular/Covidien’s Trellis-8 Peripheral Infusion System, EKOS Corporation’s EKOS EndoWave Peripheral Infusion System and ev3’s Helix Clot Buster Thrombectomy Device. In order to address the clinical controversy regarding whether PMT should be routinely used as a first-line treatment for DVT, Possis Medical, Covidien, and EKOS are collaborating on the ATTRACT trial, which is slated to begin recruitment in July 2009.

“Firms are hoping that results of this trial will clarify the association between rapid clot lysis and the prevention of post-thrombotic syndrome in patients with proximal DVT, as well as demonstrate how PMT may have lower bleeding risks compared with traditional CDT alone,” says Darren Navarro, Senior Analyst at MRG. “The reduced lytic doses and shorter treatment times in the intensive care unit afforded by PMT make this procedure safer and more user-friendly for the physician, and more convenient for the patient when compared to standard CDT.”

MRG’s US Markets for Clot Management Devices 2009 report provides important insight into the drug and device treatments of DVT and the complex competitive dynamics in this field. Additionally, the report provides market analyses for devices that treat arteriovenous, peripheral artery, coronary, and neurovascular thrombosis, including five-year forecasts, up-to-date market shares, and in-depth qualitative insights.

About Pharmacomechanical Thrombectomy
PMT is used predominantly for the treatment of iliofemoral DVT, but can also be used to a lesser extent in the treatment of upper limb DVT and peripheral artery occlusion. PMT combines the direct delivery of “clot-busting” thrombolytic drugs with mechanical clot disruption, and is posited to be safer, more effective, and more efficient than CDT alone due to the lower dose of thrombolytics required for clot dissolution.