Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

FDA approves BSX’s Promus Element drug-eluting stent:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Boston-Scientific-Receives-prnews-1322514325.html?x=0&l=1

Promus Element consists of a sirolimus coating on BSX’s platinum-chromium stent; unlike regular Promus, it is genuinely BSX’s product. The regular Promus stent that BSX has been selling for several years is simply an alias of ABT’s Xience that is manufactured by ABT, so BSX will make much more money by selling Promus Element than by selling Promus. The US profit-sharing agreement between BSX and ABT that underlies Promus (which was an offshoot of BSX’s 2006 acquisition of Guidant) ends in 1Q12.

BSX also sells a product called Ion that contains the Taxus paclitaxel coating on the Element stent (#msg-62421694); however, this will be an inconsequential product compared to Promus Element.