TAXUS(TM) Performance Superior to Cypher(TM) In Diabetic Patients In Head-to-Head Study

TAXUS(TM) Performance Superior to Cypher(TM) In Diabetic Patients In Head-to-Head Study

October 23, 2006

    NATICK, Mass., Oct. 23 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Boston
Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced one-year
results from its TC-WYRE (TAXUS(TM) Express(2)(TM) Stent vs.
Cypher Stent:  What's Your Real-World Experience?) study,
which showed the TAXUS Express(2) paclitaxel-eluting
coronary stent to be superior to the Cypher(TM)
sirolimus-eluting coronary stent in diabetic patients in a
head-to-head study.  This study of 1,558 patients was
designed to retrospectively compare one-year clinical
outcomes in real-world practice among consecutive,
unselected patients in 19 centers across the U.S.  The
results were presented at the Cardiac Research Foundation's
eighteenth annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics
scientific symposium in Washington, D.C. 

    The study's primary endpoint was target vessel
revascularization (TVR or re-intervention) at one year. 
The two stents demonstrated comparable TVR rates of 3.2
percent for the TAXUS stent and 4.4 percent (p=0.23) for
the Cypher stent.  This trend towards lower TVR in the
TAXUS stent group was statistically significant in the
complex diabetic patient population (2.8 percent for the
TAXUS stent compared to 8.5 percent for the Cypher stent,
p=0.004).  

    "These low re-intervention rates are consistent
with those we've seen in the S.T.E.N.T registry in the
Unites States," said Dr. William O'Neill, University
of Miami, and national principal investigator in the
TC-WYRE study.  "The data are particularly compelling
because they represent the patients physicians treat every
day in a real-world setting.  These patients often present
with multiple complexities physicians may not see in a
randomized controlled trial setting -- complexities such as
diabetes, small vessels, tortuous anatomy and more." 

    The TC-WYRE study also demonstrated excellent safety
outcomes consistent with previous U.S. studies.  The major
adverse cardiac event rates were comparable for the TAXUS
stent at 7.2 percent and the Cypher stent at 7.3 percent. 
In addition, the two groups demonstrated low and comparable
overall stent thrombosis rates of 0.9 percent for TAXUS and
0.8 percent for Cypher, with an identical late-stent
thrombosis rate of 0.1 percent reported for both stents.

    "While some smaller, single-center studies have
suggested significant differences between the Cypher stent
and the TAXUS stent, these differences have not been borne
out by the broader body of clinical data and have been
inconsistent with what physicians tell us about their daily
practice experience," said Paul LaViolette, Chief
Operating Officer of Boston Scientific.  "TC-WYRE was
designed to capture the real experience physicians are
having with the two stents and it corroborates the positive
findings on the TAXUS stent from significant studies such as
the S.T.E.N.T registry and from the REALITY trial -- the two
largest studies of their kind to evaluate TAXUS and Cypher
stents head-to-head."  

    Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer,
manufacturer and marketer of medical devises whose products
are used in a broad range of interventional medical
specialties.  For more information, please visit:
http://www.boston.scientific.com .

    This press release contains forward-looking statements.
 Boston Scientific wishes to caution the reader of this
press release that actual results may differ from those
discussed in the forward-looking statements and may be
adversely affected by, among other things, risks associated
with new product development and commercialization, clinical
trials, intellectual property, regulatory approvals,
competitive offerings, Boston Scientific's over all
business strategy, and  other factors described in Boston
Scientific's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.  

    For more information, please contact:

     Geraldine Varoqui, 
     Boston Scientific PR Manager International
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Tracy Paul, 
     BSC press office
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  Boston Scientific Corporation