Patent ID: 8440214

Claim:
An implantable or insertable medical device comprising a metallic substrate or a substrate that comprises a polymer selected from a polyether, a polyamide and a poly(ether amide), a polymeric region disposed over said substrate, and a therapeutic agent disposed within or beneath said polymeric region, said polymeric region regulating the release of said therapeutic agent from said medical device and comprising copolymer molecules each comprising a low T g segment displaying a T g that is below 20° C. (soft segment) and a uniform high T g segment displaying a T g that is above 50° C. (uniform hard segment), wherein said copolymer molecules are poly(ether amide) copolymer molecules, wherein said soft segment is a polyether soft segment, wherein said uniform hard segment is a uniform polyamide hard segment, wherein said polymeric region comprises polymer molecules that comprise covalently linked metallic or semi-metallic elements that form part of a ceramic network, and wherein said metallic or semi-metallic elements are covalently linked through a linkage that comprises the atomic sequence M-C x —N—C—O—C, where C x is a carbon sequence comprising from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, and M is selected from Ti, Zr, Al, Ta, Zn, Mg, Fe and Ir.