Landmark SYNTAX Trial Reports Comparable Safety Outcomes for Complex Patients Treated With TAXUS(R) Express2(TM) Stents or Bypa...( NATICK Mass. and MUNICH Germany S...)

NATICK, Mass. and MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced one-year data from its landmark SYNTAX trial comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using the TAXUS(R) Express2(TM) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System to contemporary coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. The overall results demonstrated no statistically significant differences between PCI and CABG in rates of death or myocardial infarction (MI). The Company made the announcement at the annual European Society of Cardiology meeting in Munich, Germany.

The SYNTAX trial is the first randomized, controlled clinical trial to compare PCI using drug-eluting stents (DES) to CABG in patients with left main disease and three-vessel disease. These patient groups are typically treated with CABG and represent a population with far more complex anatomy and advanced disease than those studied in prior DES clinical trials. The goal of the trial is to expand the body of knowledge of PCI use and help inform physicians on appropriate treatment options for the sickest patients.

"For PCI patients to do so well with such complex anatomy and advanced disease is extraordinary," said Keith Dawkins, M.D., Associate Chief Medical Officer of Boston Scientific. "These patients, the majority of whom are normally treated with surgery, are the most challenging group ever studied in a DES clinical trial."

The SYNTAX trial also demonstrated a significant decrease in the rate of stroke for patients treated with PCI as compared to CABG.

"The significant difference in the stroke rate between the PCI and the CABG groups is an important finding," said Dr. Dawkins. "Physicians and their patients will
'/>"/>