Defibrillators

The Food and Drug Administration lifted the restrictions after re-inspecting the plant and accepting quality- system improvements, the company said today in a statement.

The end of the sanctions removes a competitive handicap.

Boston Scientific, based in Natick, Massachusetts, acquired the unit a year ago for $27.5 billion after a bidding war with Johnson & Johnson.

Boston Scientific is the second-biggest producer in the $10 billion-a-year global market for implanted devices that regulate heart rhythms, behind Medtronic Inc.

``That's good news for them, because it lets them introduce new products, which helps keep them competitive in terms of market share,'' said Bruce Nudell, an analyst with Sanford C.

Bernstein and Co.

in New York, in a telephone interview.

Guidant had to recall 109,000 Boston Scientific shares rose $1.14, or 7.6 percent, to $16.15 at 12:49 p.m.

in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

The gain would be the biggest one-day percentage increase since February 2005.

The stock had fallen 30 percent in the 12 months through April 13.

Quality Control The biggest maker of the devices, Medtronic, accounts for more than half of worldwide sales.

Boston Scientific has about a quarter of the market for