Japanese patients now have access to second-generation drug-eluting stent

NATICK, Mass., March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the launch of its TAXUS® Liberte® Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System in Japan. The product was approved on January 28 by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and reimbursement was granted yesterday by the National Health Insurance System.

TAXUS Liberte is the only second-generation drug-eluting stent available in Japan. Design improvements over the Company's first-generation TAXUS® Express2™ Stent include thinner struts to allow better stent deliverability and conformability, as well as uniform stent geometry for consistent lesion coverage and drug distribution.

"We are very pleased to launch TAXUS Liberte as the only second-generation drug-eluting stent in Japan," said Maulik Nanavaty, President of Boston Scientific Japan. "Boston Scientific has already established a diversified product portfolio in the coronary intervention field, and we are committed to building on these leading treatment options for Japanese patients with coronary artery disease."

Approximately 1,300 medical centers perform cardiac catheterization in Japan. The number of coronary stents implanted annually in the country is estimated at 200,000.

Boston Scientific is the leading supplier of drug-eluting stent technology in the world and hopes to extend its leadership with this new stent offering in Japan.

Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. For more information, please visit: http://www.bostonscientific.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "anticipate," "expect," "project," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "intend" and similar words. These forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and estimates using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding regulatory approvals, clinical trials, product performance and competitive offerings. If our underlying assumptions turn out to be incorrect, or if certain risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. These factors, in some cases, have affected and in the future (together with other factors) could affect our ability to implement our business strategy and may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements expressed in this press release. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements.

Factors that may cause such differences include, among other things: future economic, competitive, reimbursement and regulatory conditions; new product introductions; demographic trends; intellectual property; litigation; financial market conditions; and, future business decisions made by us and our competitors. All of these factors are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of them are beyond our control. For a further list and description of these and other important risks and uncertainties that may affect our future operations, see Part I, Item 1A - Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we may update in Part II, Item 1A - Risk Factors in Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q we have filed or will file thereafter. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which those expectations may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.

    CONTACTS:
             Paul Donovan
             Media Relations
             Boston Scientific Corporation
             508-650-8541 (office)
             508-667-5165 (mobile)

             Larry Neumann
             Investor Relations
             Boston Scientific Corporation
             508-650-8696 (office)

SOURCE: Boston Scientific Corporation

Web site: http://www.bostonscientific.com/