An
intravascular stent and method for inhibiting
restenosis, following vascular injury, is disclosed. The
stent has an expandable, linked-filament body and a
drug-release
coating formed on the
stent-body filaments, for contacting the vessel
injury site when the
stent is placed in-situ in an expanded condition. The
coating releases, for a period of at least 4 weeks, a
restenosis-inhibiting amount of a monocyclic triene immunosuppressive compound having an
alkyl group
substituent at carbon position 40 in the compound. The stent, when used to treat a vascular injury, gives good protection against clinical
restenosis, even when the extent of vascular injury involves vessel overstretching by more than 30%
diameter. Also disclosed is a stent having a
drug-release
coating composed of (i) 10 and 60 weight percent poly-dl-
lactide polymer substrate and (ii) 40-90 weight percent of an anti-restenosis compound, and a
polymer undercoat having a thickness of between 1-5 microns.