Defibrillators news | Breaking defibrillators news

News

Advertisers:

Worldwide sales of heart stents decline due to safety concerns

...By Janet Moore, Star TribuneLast update: April 23, 2007 – 6:11 PM Printer friendly E-mail this story Save to del.icio.us Business BSX: Defibrillator sales better than expected CEO pay watch: Digital River's Ronning got $1.5 million Target says April sales 'much weaker' than planned Lee Enterprises profit drops on weakness in print advertising Study: Pay gap between sexes begins 1 year after college, then grows Boston Scientific Corp.

said late Monday that worldwide sales of drug-coated heart stents declined about 26 percent in the first quarter to $468 million, as sales of the tiny mesh devices slowed due to safety concerns.Sales of drug-coated stents this quarter were a bit lower than expected due to "market dynamics," said Jim Tobin, the Natick, Mass.-based company's chief executive and president, in a press release late Monday.Net income for the quarter, which ended March 31, fell 64 percent to $120 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with $332 million, or 40 cents per share, the same period last year.

Wall Street analysts had expected the medical technology company to earn 10 cents a share in the first quarter.Studies have linked drug-coated stents - used to prop open clogged arteries, as the drugs prevent reclogging - to potentially fatal blood clots.

Sales were further damaged when researchers in March reported that drugs are as good as coated stents at prolonging lives and avoiding heart attacks.

The $5.4 billion dru...