Boston Scientific Corp. returned fire to Medtronic and Abbott, aiming to counter the rivals’ claims that their stents outperform BoSci’s older Taxus model.
Drug-Eluting Stents
Abbott: Xience V is better than Taxus, too
Abbott threw another grenade Boston Scientific‘s way with a study showing its Xience V drug-eluting stent outperforms BoSci’s Taxus.
The news follows a Medtronic study that company touted earlier today, showing that its Endeavor stent is safer than the Taxus.
Medtronic: Endeavor stent is safer than BoSci’s Taxus
Medtronic Inc. lobbed another grenade in the ongoing stent wars, touting a long-term study it says shows that its Endeavor drug-eluting stent is safer than rival Boston Scientific Corp.‘s Taxus.
Medtronic said the three-year results from the Endeavor IV trial comparing its zotarolimus‐eluting stent and BoSci’s paclitaxel‐eluting stent in 1,548 patients show a nearly 50 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack or cardiac death with the Endeavor stent.
Boston Scientific: 1,500 patients enrolled in Promus Element stent trial
Boston Scientific Corp. enrolled more than 1,500 patients in the Platinum clinical trial of its Promus Element drug-eluting stent, two months ahead of schedule, setting the stage for approval applications to the Food & Drug Administration and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
The Natick, Mass.-based medical devices giant said the workhorse trial is a global, randomized, pivotal controlled study of its platinum chromium Promus Element everolimus-eluting stent involving 1,532 patients at more than 140 sites worldwide.
Abbott’s Xience V gets regulatory nod from China
Abbott said it’s planning a fourth-quarter launch for its Xience V everolimus-eluting coronary stent (PDF), after the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration approved the device to treat coronary artery disease.
Positive Boston Scientific study results don’t translate to Wall Street gains
Boston Scientific Corp. spent the past two days touting a trio of studies of its defibrillator and stent products, which delivered generally positive results for the Natick, Mass.-based devices giant.
But the results didn’t translate into a stock price boost; after briefly flirting with its yearlong high, BSX stock fell back to earth and was trading at $11.00 as of about 12:15 p.m. Sept. 2.
Abbott launches Xience Prime in Europe
Abbott Laboratories opened up a new front in the long-running stent wars, with the official launch of its Xience Prime drug-eluting stent in Europe.
The announcement was made at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Chicago-based Abbott received CE Mark approval for the device in June.
BoSci’s lawyers still on the job in stent patent suit vs. Wyeth, Cordis
The law firm that’s representing Boston Scientific Corp. in a coronary stent patent case against pharma giant Wyeth and Johnson & Johnson’s Cordis Corp. unit can stay on the job.
Judge Susan Robinson of the U.S. District Court for Delaware denied Wyeth’s motion to disqualify Howrey LLP as the Natick, Mass.-based device maker’s counsel, despite Howrey’s representation of Wyeth in a separate, unrelated case in Europe.
New chapters in the stent war annals
Dr. Bruce Saffran, fresh from a $500 million court victory and a private settlement with Boston Scientific over a drug-eluting stent patent, is suing Abbott Laboratories (PDF) for violating the same patent with its Xience V stent.
Saffran, a New Jersey radiologist, won the half-billion-dollar verdict against the Natick, Mass.-based devices giant and later settled for an undisclosed amount (although BoSci later posted a $50 million charge on the deal).
Health Canada clears Abbott’s Xience V stent
Health Canada approved Abbott’s Xience V drug-eluting stent, which the Chicago-based colossus said it plans to bring to market north of the border immediately.
The device, which competes with Boston Scientific‘s Taxus product, uses a different drug, everolimus, than the paclitaxel-eluting Taxus. The drugs are designed to inhibit the re-growth of vascular tissue around the mesh-like stent.
Studies deliver good results for Boston Scientific’s Taxus
A pair of studies published in Cardiology Today delivered positive results for Boston Scientific Corp.‘s Taxus and Taxus Express drug-eluting stents.
The first study compared the Taxus paclitaxel-eluting stent with Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Cordis Corp.’s Cypher sirolimus-eluting stent in a total of 6,035 patients. It indicated that, a year after implantation with either device, patients showed “similar rates of clinically important restenosis and ischemic complications.”