Plunging Taxus sales continue to put the hurt on Angiotech

July 30, 2010 by MassDevice staff

Earnings at Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. show that royalty revenues derived from sales of Boston Scientific Corp.'s Taxus drug-eluting stent continue dropped by 50 percent during Q2.

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NSDQ:ANPI) is once again feeling the effects of sluggish sales of Boston Scientific Corp,'s (NYSE:BSX) Taxus coronary stent systems.

The Vancouver-based company makes paclitaxel, the drug used in the stent's coating that is designed to reduce restenosis or the re-narrowing of blood vessels after stents are implanted. Angiotech reaps around 6 percent of the net sales of Taxus stents worldwide in royalties for BSX's use of its product.

The company said in an earnings release that royalties from Taxus were off by 50 percent during the three month period ended on June 30, 2010. Angiotech reported $8.9 million in Taxus royalties during the quarter, compared to $16.9 million during the same period last year.

The royalties are based on the $142 million sales of Taxus stents from January 1, 2010 to March 31, 2010, which was well off the $252 million the stents brought in during the comparable period last year.

Since hitting a high-water mark in 2005, Angiotech's royalty revenues from paclitaxel-eluting coronary devices have plummeted in subsequent years.

Taxus sales have declined significantly over the past two years, as competition has stiffened from other drug-eluting stent makers like Medtronic or Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Cordis Corp. Even so, BSX said it lays claim to an estimated 49 percent share of the DES market in the U.S.

Angiotech shares were priced at 58 cents per share in early afternoon trading, down 2.69 percent.