Peshawar, Pakistan – On October 17, Firehawk® Rapamycin Target Eluting Coronary Stent System ("Firehawk®"), in-house developed by Shanghai MicroPort Medical (Group) Co., Ltd. ("MicroPort®"), was successfully implanted in the Northwest General Hospital in Peshawar of North Pakistan, marking the first implantation of Firehawk® in Pakistan after it received approval from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan ("DRAP") on September 8.
Dr. Abdul Raheem successfully implanted a Firehawk® stent of 2.5*13mm in a mid-LAD (left anterior descending coronary artery) of the patient. There were no stent malapposition and post-dilation was easily done. Dr. Abdul Raheem spoke highly of Firehawk®'s excellent crossability and trackability, and said he would continue to use Firehawk® in future surgical treatments.
Firehawk® is MicroPort®'s third generation drug-eluting stent ("DES"), and the world's first and only target-eluting stent. As the world's lowest drug dosage stent, Firehawk® combines the merits of bare metal stents and DES. It adopts unique in-groove abluminal coating design and target-eluting technique, which allow Firehawk® to achieve the same clinical efficacy with significantly low drug loading, benefiting vascular early healing.
Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world. Pakistani population has one of the highest risks of coronary heart disease in the world. In Pakistan, 30 to 40 percent of all deaths can be attributed to cardiovascular diseases. The coronary heart disease death in Pakistan has reached about 200,000 per year. Firehawk®'s first successful implantation in Pakistan signifies its official entry in the market, which is expected to offer more ideal solutions to local patients with cardiovascular diseases.