Boston Scientific Expresses Willingness To Discuss Modification of Guidant Plea Agreement

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.  

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 resolution of government proceedings.  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 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.

CONTACT:

Paul Donovan


508-650-8541 (office)


508-667-5165 (mobile)


Media Relations


Boston Scientific Corporation




Larry Neumann


508-650-8696 (office)


Investor Relations


Boston Scientific Corporation



SOURCE Boston Scientific Corporation

Top