Pre-Clinical Investigation of Liquid Paclitaxel for Local Drug Delivery: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the feasibility of a perfusion catheter to deliver liquid paclitaxel into arterial segments. A clinically relevant rabbit ilio-femoral injury model was utilized to determine the impact of liquid paclitaxel delivered locally into the vessel wall using a perfusion catheter at 1 h to 14 days. Treatment by two clinically available forms of liquid paclitaxel, a solvent-based (sb) versus an albumin-bound (nab), along with a control (uncoated balloons), were investigated. Pharmacokinetic results demonstrated an increase in the retention of the sb-paclitaxel versus the nab-paclitaxel at 1 h; however, no other differences were observed at days one, three, and seven. Histological findings at 14 days showed significantly less neointimal area in the sb-paclitaxel treated arteries as compared with the nab-paclitaxel and the uncoated balloon-treated arteries. Additionally, percent area stenosis was significantly less in the sb-paclitaxel group. These results support the concept of local liquid delivery of paclitaxel into the arterial segments.