Diamond Cutters Turned Stent Makers in India Challenge Abbott
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In the western Indian port city of Surat, businesses linked to the diamond industry are turning their expertise to coronary stents, creating an unusual hurdle for industry leaders like Abbott Laboratories and Medtronic Plc.
Using laser technology gleaned from years in the area’s historic diamond trade, family-owned firms like Sahajanand Medical Technologies are churning out lower-priced copies of stents made by the world’s biggest medical-device makers. Stents are tiny mesh tubes used to prop open arteries after they’ve been cleared of fat clogging the flow of blood.