Feb 1, 2002
Guidant President and CEO is Keynote Speaker at Merrill Lynch Global Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology & Medical Device Conference

Presentation Accessible Via Webcast

Indianapolis, IN - Guidant Corporation (NYSE and PCX: GDT), a global leader in cardiac and vascular technology, today announced that Ronald W. Dollens, president and CEO, will be the featured speaker during a luncheon at the Merrill Lynch Global Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology & Medical Device Conference on February 7, 2002, in New York City.

As the Keynote speaker, Dollens will provide an overview of the various issues confronting the industry, with emphasis on global healthcare policy, as well as other matters specific to Guidant. His presentation is scheduled to begin at 12:50 p.m. (Eastern Time).

The live webcast of Dollen's presentation will be accessible through Guidant's website at http://www.guidant.com/webcast/ or through the Merrill Lynch website at http://www.mlx.ml.com. The webcast will be temporarily archived on both websites for on-demand replay.

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.

System requirements for the webcast include Internet Explorer 5.0 (or higher) or Netscape Navigator 4.0 (or higher). Users also should have the most recent version of Windows Media Player, which can be downloaded for free at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/en/download/. Users may experience varying levels of performance based on their connection speed, system capabilities and presence of a corporate firewall. To ensure a connection, users should go to the program five to 15 minutes before its start.