Wall Street did not react positively to news that Guidant is withdrawing an additional five defibrillator models from the US market on concerns of safety issues similar to those which prompted an earlier recall. The affected models are specialized devices classified by most analysts as high-end. Each costs somewhere between $25,000 and $35,000. The news effectively hands the $2.3 billion market for patients with congestive heart failure to rivals Medtronic and St. Jude. There was immediate speculation that the development may effectively bring an end to Johnson & Johnson's plan to take over the Indianapolis-based company.
- see this story from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)