THE INTERVIEW
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Patrick Sabaria Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Arterial Remodeling Technologies |
Q If I wasn’t talking to you right now, what would you be doing?
A I am in the midst of ensuring, with the help of other members of our management team, that our CE mark programme is moving forward according to schedule. Our initial goal is to obtain the CE mark for our coronary and peripheral stents for the treatment of atherosclerosis. Our bioresorbable polymer stent platform offers nonpermanent stents for two major conditions: cardiovascular lesions and peripheral vascular lesions and vulnerable plaque.
Q How did you get into the medical device industry?
A Having participated in the introduction of the Palmaz stent in Europe during my employment with J&J, I understood that the permanent metal stent could not be the ultimate answer to cardiologists’ and patients’ needs. I went on to co-found my present company with Professor Michel Vert, Professor Antoine Lafont and Dr Fred Cornhill to develop the next generation of stents: bioresorbable stents.
Q What is the best thing about your work?
A The best thing about my job is being able to work with my partners and colleagues on this new paradigm for stenting. It is a challenging product development effort that involves close collaboration with leading edge specialists in cardiology, polymers, production and regulatory matters. Bioresorbability is not an end in itself, but rather a factor that allows the artery to remodel and to heal better. This is the essence of the concept. The most important portion of the degradation process is the “dismantling” event, not total disappearance of the stent all at once. Dismantling, or the gradual loss of physical integrity, is the process that allows the arterial remodelling process to proceed.
Q What do you think is the most important medical device invention ever?
A Medical device history is paved with numerous breakthrough products that have been developed thanks to mankind’s creativity and the technologies available at the time. Perhaps I am biased, but I believe that stents should most certainly be included in any discussion of the “most important” medical device ever. But I also believe that the best medical device is still to be invented with technologies that we probably don’t even think about today.
Q What should people give attention to?
A I believe that we should give great attention to the human resources management in our companies. From a business point of view, patients’ benefit and clinicians’ responses to needs should drive companies’ objectives.
Q What is the most exciting development on the horizon?
A From my company’s perspective, it is our future first in man trial. This will be the culmination of many years of challenging development work and the validation of a vision we began pursuing a long time ago. Taking into consideration the features and benefits of our stent, we can expect rapid and smooth endotheliasation of the artery, which will permit fast and complete coverage of the polymer’s struts inside the artery wall, contrary to what is seen with the drug eluting stent. Once the endothelium has covered the stent, the stent will start dismantling and disappear over time.
Q What do you want from your suppliers?
A A supplier must understand and be able to adapt to the targets of a research and development company such as ours, and, of course, the supplier should be accurate and prompt according to specifications, service and goods.
Patrick Sabaria is Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Arterial Remodeling Technologies, 3 rue de Verdun, Bât.G, F-78590 Noisy le Roi, France, tel. +33 1 61 06 19 92, e-mail: patrick.sabaria@art-development.com, www.art-stent.com.
