Boston Scientific says decline in sales of drug-coated stents probably over

WASHINGTON -- Sales of Boston Scientific Corp.'s flagship Taxus drug-coated stent have likely hit bottom and will rebound slightly next year, chief operating officer Paul LaViolette said at a meeting of Wall Street analysts this afternoon.

Speaking on a stage decorated with six giant illuminated stents, LaViolette predicted that the $3 billion United States stent market would grow slightly next year, and the company would hold onto its share, just over half.

Drug-coated stent sales are by far the most important component of Boston Scientific's revenues, and the company's stock has suffered as news of long-term side effects has started to worry heart doctors and their patients.

In an unusual move that speaks to the importance of a single product, the Natick company dedicated an entire two-hour analyst session to the topic of stents. It was held in the ballroom of a Washington hotel, one block away from the country's biggest interventional cardiology conference.
(By Stephen Heuser, Globe staff)

Boston Scientific's Taxus stent