Boston Scientific Launches Third-Generation Platinum Chromium Drug-Elu...( TAXUS(R) Element(TM) Stent now availa...),Health

TAXUS(R) Element(TM) Stent now available in select markets worldwide

NATICK, Mass., May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced the launch of the platinum chromium TAXUS(R) Element(TM) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System in select markets worldwide. The TAXUS Element Stent features a new platinum chromium alloy engineered specifically for coronary stent applications and represents the Company's third-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) technology.

The Element Stent series consists of three distinct versions: the Paclitaxel-Eluting TAXUS Element Stent, the Everolimus-Eluting PROMUS(R) Element(TM) Stent and the bare-metal Element Stent(1). All three versions of the Element Stent are built on the advanced platinum chromium platform and are designed to provide interventional cardiologists improved performance in treating patients with complex coronary artery disease. The Company is anticipating CE Mark approval for both the TAXUS Element Stent and the PROMUS Element Stent Systems in the fourth quarter of this year.

The platinum chromium alloy used in the Element Stent System was engineered specifically for coronary stenting, delivering both strength and flexibility. The Element Stent System platform also features a new stent architecture with thinner struts, increased flexibility and a lower profile, designed to improve radial strength, recoil and angiographic visibility. Deliverability to complex lesions is further enhanced through the incorporation of a new highly deliverable dilatation catheter technology.

"It is particularly important to have a range of options when selecting the right treatment for patients with challenging coronary lesions," said Dean J. Kereiakes, M.D., Medical Director at The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center and The Lindner Research Cent
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