Stents Set Up For A Comeback (ABT, BSX, MDT, JNJ, SRDX, ANPI)
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) announced after the close today, in a decision we have been waiting on for what feels like forever, that the FDA has approved for the company to begin marketing its XIENCE drug-eluting coronary stent systems.
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) will get to sell basically the same exact stent under a different name. Boston Scientific also has the old Taxus stent. Angiotech (NASDAQ: ANPI) is also Boston’s Taxus stent coating partner for its molecule.
As far as the others, this will get to compete with the Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) Endeavor stent system as well as Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) Cypher stent. Medtronic won the first Stent system approval in February after a 4-year hiatus. SurModics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRDX) is the molecule partner over at J&J for the drug-eluting coatings for teh Cypher stent.
This is being viewed as a key win for Abbott Labs with shares up 1.6% at $55.10 in after-hours trading. The good news is that the dark clouds surrounding stents and drug-eluting stents is starting to lift. The bad news on the topic is that this is now a highly competitive sub-sector in coronary medical technology.
Jon Ogg
July 2, 2008
Angiotech’s Partner Shows Positive Stent Data (ANPI)
Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANPI) has announced this morning that its corporate partner, Cook Medical, has reported positive interim results from the registry arm of its clinical study in measuring the effectiveness of its Zilver PTX drug-eluting peripheral stent in treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
Interim data was compiled at six and 12 months using 435 patients and 200 patients, respectively. The corresponding EFS rates were 94% and 84%, and freedom from TLR was 96 percent and 88%.
Angiotech is a company that has not been in the brightest spot of late. As the company makes polymers for stents (and other uses), the 2007 issues surrounding the safety and efficacy of stents had a severe negative impact on the company.
Even after a 6% rise this morning to $2.74, the stock is still down almost two-thirds from its 52-week highs of $7.90. In late 2004 this stock traded well over $20.00.
Jon C. Ogg
June 11, 2008