Medical device makers to fund stent safety study

Earlier this year, medical device giants Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific were involved in a knock-down, drag out fight [1] over the acquisition of Guidant [2]. But in light of recent reports that blood clots can form within drug-coated stents, the former rivals as well as several other device makers have come together to fund a 10,000-person study of the technology. “The new study will monitor patients for blood clots for two years, a period in which…about 100 blood clots are expected to appear. Researchers will look at a variety of factors that may contribute to the clots,” reports the Boston Globe. The research is being carried out at the North Carolina-based Carolinas Heart Institute of Charlotte, and though the device makers are funding the study, researchers insist that the funding will have on influence on the outcome.

There’s no doubt that the questions surrounding stent safety and the results of this study have serious financial implications for J&J and Boston Scientific. Boston Scientific’s Taxus and J&J’s Cypher and the two best-selling stent brands, but in recent concerns over stent safety have led to a decreased use of stents and an increase in use of drugs such as Plavix for treating clogged coronary vessels. Report [3]