Overview of Pharmacology and Clinical Trials Program with the Zotarolimus‐Eluting Endeavor Stent

Despite considerable benefits associated with current drug-eluting stents (DES), continued attention to the safety, efficacy, and deliverability of first-generation DES has led to the development of new antiproliferative agents with alternative stent platforms and different drug carrier systems. Zotarolimus is a recently developed pharmacologic agent with both antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory properties. The Endeavor drug-eluting stent (Medtronic Vascular, Santa Rosa, CA) represents the combination of zotarolimus, a low-profile cobalt alloy stent platform, and a biocompatible phosphorylcholine drug carrier system. At present, four clinical trials examining the safety and efficacy of the Endeavor stent have been performed. Although these studies have enrolled patients with similar clinical and angiographic characteristics, they have differed in trial design and study population size and have been performed across a broad geographic and physician distribution. Despite these differences, the results of these trials demonstrate consistently low rates of angiographic restenosis and repeat revascularization in addition to a favorable safety profile, with no occurrences of late stent thrombosis through 1 year of follow-up. This review describes the pharmacology and design on the Endeavor stent, summarizes results from recent clinical trials evaluating the Endeavor stent, and provides an overview of ongoing and future directions for clinical investigation.