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Medical equipment industry

Boston Scientific's Taxus Stent Faces Competition from Johnson & Johnson's Cordis

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Boston Scientific's flagship product, the Taxus stent, has dominated the market for drug-coated stents since its introduction last spring. However, evidence is emerging that Johnson & Johnson's Cordis gives better patient results, threatening to dethrone Taxus from its market leading position. Despite strong quarterly earnings and sales of $686 million, Boston Scientific's president and CEO, James R. Tobin, acknowledged that Taxus may not be the superior technology he had hoped it would be. Studies comparing Taxus and Cordis are still in their early stages, but preliminary data suggests that Cypher, the drug-coated stent made by Cordis, may produce better results for most patients.

Key Takeaways:

  • Boston Scientific's Taxus stent led the market in sales, reaching $686 million, more than five times its stent sales for the quarter a year ago.
  • Taxus regained its hold on 70 percent of the market less than two months after a recall of nearly 100,000 stents due to manufacturing defects.
  • Studies comparing Taxus and Cordis suggest that Cypher may produce better results for most patients, particularly in terms of reblockage prevention and overall patient health.
  • Dr. Charles A. Simonton III, a partner at the Sanger Clinic, stated that "things seem to be leaning toward Cypher" based on his analysis of existing data.
  • A 350-patient German trial and a 1,300-patient European trial showed that Cypher patients had a third to a half as much regrowth of lesions as Taxus patients.
  • Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt, director of the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, modified his practice to split usage between Taxus and Cypher based on existing evidence.
  • Boston Scientific has introduced several new products and systems to compete with Cordis, including a new drug-coated stent delivery system.

Statistics:

  • $686 million: Boston Scientific's stent sales for the quarter.
  • 70 percent: Taxus's market share after the recall of nearly 100,000 stents.
  • $258 million: Boston Scientific's quarterly net income, double the amount from a year ago.
  • 30 cents: Boston Scientific's quarterly earnings per share.
  • $1.48 billion: Boston Scientific's quarterly revenues, a 69 percent increase from a year ago.
  • $3,200: The initial price of Cypher, compared to Taxus's price of around $2,500.
  • 2,500-2,700: The typical cost of stent packages, including delivery tools.
  • 15 percent: The percentage of cases where Dr. Bhatt prefers Taxus over Cypher due to ease of use.
  • 7 out of 10: The proportion of patients Dr. Bhatt used to treat with Taxus before modifying his practice.
  • 50-50: The current split of usage between Taxus and Cypher by Dr. Bhatt.
  • 90 hospitals: The number of hospitals participating in the Reality trial comparing Taxus and Cypher.
  • 1,300 patients: The number of patients in the Reality trial.
  • 2006: The projected year for the approval of Boston Scientific's new drug-coated stent delivery system in the United States.

Sources:

  • "Boston Scientific Reports Strong Earnings, but Faces Competition From Johnson & Johnson's Cordis," The New York Times, October 14, 2003.
  • "Taxus Stents Recover Fast Market Share," The New York Times, October 14, 2003.
  • "Boston Scientific's Taxus Dominates Stent Market," Bloomberg, October 14, 2003.
  • "Johnson & Johnson's Cordis Gains in Stent Market," Bloomberg, October 14, 2003.

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