Mar 7, 2002
Guidant Halts Further Development on Actinomycin-D Drug Eluting Stent Program

Company to Host Webcast/Conference Call Today

Indianapolis, IN - Guidant Corporation (NYSE and PCX: GDT), a global leader in cardiac and vascular technology, today reported preliminary results of its international ACTION clinical trial evaluating a drug eluting stent system utilizing actinomycin-D.

Preliminary results of the study indicate that actinomycin-D is not effective in preventing restenosis and patients treated with actinomycin-D eluting stents have an unacceptably high target lesion revascularization rate.

Guidant observed this data during the process of monitoring the clinical follow-up of the first 90 patients enrolled in the study. As a result, Guidant's actinomycin-D drug eluting stent program has been halted. The company will not go forward with an IDE submission for the U.S. pivotal trial using this compound.

"Guidant's overriding interest is in the well-being of the patients involved in the study," said John M. Capek, Ph.D., president, Vascular Intervention, Guidant Corporation. "We are working closely with the clinicians involved in the study to ensure appropriate follow-up for the patients.

"Despite these results for the actinomycin-D program, we continue to see great promise for drug eluting stents, and we believe that the processes, capabilities and strategic direction of Guidant's drug eluting stent program are solid," Capek continued. "We will continue to focus on the more advanced paclitaxel program with Cook Incorporated, which recently completed enrollment of 1,042 patients in DELIVER, and we will pursue the development of other drug eluting stents utilizing Guidant's proprietary elution technology and market-leading stent designs."

Conference Call/Webcast

Guidant will conduct a live webcast today, Thursday, March 7, at 8:30 a.m. EST. The live webcast of Guidant's conference call will be accessible through Guidant's website at www.guidant.com/webcast or at CCBN's individual investor center at www.companyboardroom.com. The webcast will be archived on both websites for future on-demand replay.

The call will be hosted by Guidant's President and CEO Ronald W. Dollens and will feature a review of Guidant's drug eluting stent program. Also participating on the call will be John M. Capek, Ph.D. and Thomas J. Linnemeier, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Guidant Vascular Intervention.

Guidant Corporation pioneers lifesaving technology, giving an opportunity for better life today to 7 million cardiac and vascular patients worldwide. The company, driven by a strong entrepreneurial culture of 10,000 employees, develops, manufactures and markets a broad array of products and services that enable less invasive care for some of life's most threatening medical conditions.

This release includes forward-looking statements concerning drug-eluting stents and our progress with them. The forward-looking statements are based on assumptions about many important factors, including new product development, regulatory approvals, litigation and other factors listed on exhibit 99 to the company's most recent 10-Q. As such, they involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. The company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.