Boston Scientific warned this morning that sales of its formerly best-selling Taxus stent are likely to fall below expectations, and the company admitted it is unlikely to match its earnings estimates for the third quarter. The news follows directly on the heels of a series of reports on the effectiveness of leading stent brands delivered at this week's meeting of the European Conference of Cardiology. One study, due to be published next week in the Lancet, finds that stents made by Johnson & Johnson are not cost effective and should be restricted to patients at the most serious risk of having heart attacks.
- see this Wall Street Journal story on Boston Scientific's stent sales (sub. req.)
- see this story on the European Conference of Cardiology