Sirolimus-Eluting Coronary Stents

The story of sirolimus began in 1975 on Easter Island, in the South Pacific, a remote, enigmatic place known for the prominent stone statues that punctuate its landscape. An actinomycete, Streptomyces hygroscopicus, cultured from a sample of the island's soil, was found to produce through natural fermentation a novel macrolide antibiotic with potent antifungal, immunosuppressive, and antimitotic activities. The generic name of the resulting drug is sirolimus (see Figure); it is also known as rapamycin, after Rapa Nui, the name given to Easter Island by its inhabitants.Twenty-five years of intensive research led, in 1999, to the approval of sirolimus . . .