NATICK, Mass., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced that the U.S. District Court in Minnesota declined to accept the plea agreement between Guidant and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) related to product advisories issued in 2005, before Boston Scientific acquired Guidant.  Instead, the Court invited the parties to consider a modified agreement fashioned to further serve the public interest, including community service, public education and charitable activities, and suggested the DOJ allocate a portion of the settlement funds to Medicare.  The Court did not suggest revisions to the remaining terms of the plea agreement.

The Company said it plans to work with the DOJ in an effort to develop a modified plea agreement that is acceptable to the Court, the DOJ and the Company.

In November, Guidant agreed to plead to two misdemeanor charges related to the failure to include information in reports to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Boston Scientific agreed to pay $296 million on behalf of Guidant.  

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: www.bostonscientific.com.  

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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 hereafter.  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.

SOURCE Boston Scientific Corporation