Patent ID: 8187320

Claim:
A method of treating and/or preventing restenosis in a blood vessel, the method comprising: providing an implant including an elongate member having one or more recesses formed in a surface thereof so as to provide one or more reservoirs and having an effective amount of FK506 (tacrolimus) for treating and/or preventing restenosis, the effective amount including a multi-stage release portion of FK506 (tacrolimus) disposed in the one or more internal reservoirs, the multi-stage release portion in communication with an exterior of the implant; inserting the implant into a vessel; expanding the implant into contact with a wall of the vessel; eluting FK506 from the plurality of internal lumen reservoirs into the wall of the vessel in the vicinity of the implant in an amount sufficient for treating and/or preventing restenosis in the blood vessel, the effective amount of FK506 eluted by the implant for treating and/or preventing restenosis producing a blood concentration of FK506 that ranges from about: about 7 ng/ml to about 17 ng/ml of blood at one hour after implantation of the implant; about 6 ng/ml to about 11 ng/ml of blood at eight hours after implantation of the implant; and/or about 2 ng/ml to about 4 ng/ml of blood twenty-four hours after implantation of the implant.