Earnings In Brief

Boston Scientific stent sales reflect growing competition: Boston Scientific's drug-eluting coronary stent sales totaled $428 million in the first quarter, an 8.5% decline from the prior-year period and a 1.6% sequential decrease from the fourth quarter of 2007, the firm reported April 21. The drop was due in part to price cuts and increased competition in the U.S. with the launch in February of Medtronic's Endeavor zotarolimus-eluting stent. Wachovia analyst Larry Biegelsen estimates that Boston Scientific's Taxus paclitaxel-eluting stent ceded four points of U.S. market share to Endeavor during the quarter versus seven points for Johnson & Johnson/Cordis' Cypher sirolimus-eluting stent. Boston Scientific estimates that Endeavor held U.S. share of 12%-13% at the end of the quarter. Despite the market share shift, Chief Operating Officer Paul LaViolette pointed to "clear evidence of recovery" in the drug-eluting stent market. The firm's cardiac rhythm management sales of $565 million in Q1 reflect a 4.8% year-over-year advance