Older heart disease patients with drug-eluting stents fare better when it comes to heart attacks and mortality rates than patients with bare metal stents, according to a study funded by the federal Health & Human Services dept.’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Huh? Federal courts upholds Boston Scientific’s patent claims against Johnson & Johnson — and vice versa
A federal appeals court ruled that Boston Scientific Corp. and Johnson & Johnson each infringed cardiac stent patents held by the other company, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The outcome of the 10-year court battle is still murky, despite the ruling, which failed to determine “the question of who owes what to whom,” according to the journal.
Abbott Labs adds another scalp to its belt in stent war with Boston Scientific
A three-year trial comparing Abbott Laboratories‘ Xience V drug-eluting stent against its Taxus competitor from Boston Scientific Corp. showed that the Abbott device is much more effective three years after implantation.
The news, announced at an American College of Cardiology conference in Orlando, sent the Natick device goliath’s stock into a slight swoon. The Xience product is already outselling the Taxus, and the news promises to accelerate that trend.
Boston Scientific gets another credit rating upgrade
The good news: Another credit agency raised Boston Scientific Corp.‘s rating. The bad news: The Natick-based medical devices giant is still rated as a junk bond.
Boston Scientific faces a class-action suit and settles a patent case, only to get slapped with another
March 16 capped off a rough week for Boston Scientific Corp. and its Taxus stent line.
The Natick-based device giant found out March 14 that it faces a class-action lawsuit over the 2004 recall of its Taxus stent.
Two days later, the same day the Natick-based device giant settled a patent infringement case filed by a Texas physician, it was slapped with another by a Hong Kong cardiovascular device maker.
Boston Scientific co-founders unload millions in BoSci stock
Boston Scientific Corp. co-founders John Abele and Peter Nicholas unloaded millions of dollars worth of their stakes in the company in March alone.
It’s part of their effort to salvage the Natick-based medical device leviathan’s stock price, which fell from about $45 per share five years ago to less than $9, according to The Boston Globe.
Add to that the failure of its Taxus Express drug-eluting stent and the disastrous, $27 billion buyout Guidant Corp. (which added $10 billion in debt and thousands of safety recalls in 2006).
Boston Scientific launches new imaging catheter, preps for European debut of two stents
Boston Scientific Corp.’s iCross coronary imaging catheter hit the United States market March 19, two days after the company said two of its new drug coated stents should debut in Europe later this year — possibly earlier in non-EU countries.
The Natick medical device colossus said its iCross coronary imaging catheter, designed for use with its intravascular ultrasound iLab imaging system, is now available in the U.S.
Boston Scientific brass get raises after off year
The board of directors at Boston Scientific Corp. gave themselves a 25 percent pay raise and handed out bonuses to top-level executives — including $16.6 million worth of stock to CEO James Tobin — after a year that saw the company’s stock price drop by nearly a third of its value.
J. Raymond Elliot leaves Boston Scientific board for private venture
Following a less than two-year stint on the board of directors at Boston Scientific Corp., J. Raymond Elliot resigned his seat to start a new, as-yet unspecified venture.
The Natick medical device colossus said March 9 that Elliot would not stand for re-election at the company’s annual shareholders meeting.
Moody’s upgrades Boston Scientific, but there’s still a ways to go
Out of the frying pan and into … the skillet?
That’s about the size of it for Boston Scientific Corp., which saw its bond rating raised from negative to stable by Moody’s Investors Service. It’s good news, but there’s still a ways to go.
Moody’s upgraded the Natick-based medical device giant’s U.S. public bond rating March 10 from “Ba2” to “Ba1” and its liquidity rating from “SGL-3” to “SGL-2”, while affirming its corporate credit rating at “Ba1.”
Boston Scientific’s Taxus stent clears Japanese regulatory approval
Boston Scientific Corp.‘s Taxus Liberte drug-eluting stent was given regulatory approvals in Japan, clearing the way for its appearance on the Japanese market.
The Natick medical device leviathan said March 3 that its paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system was approved Jan. 28 by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Reimbursement was granted March 2 by the country’s National Health Insurance System.
About 1,300 medical centers perform cardiac catheterizations in Japan, implanting an estimated 200,000 coronary stents annually, according to Boston Scientific.
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