If one were to handicap the start thus far of the race to develop drug-eluting stents (DES), generally agreed to be the next blockbuster cardiovascular device product area, Johnson & Johnson 's Cordis Corp. has a good-sized early lead, with Boston Scientific Corp. , Guidant Corp. , and Cook Inc. battling for second place at this point, and Medtronic Inc. , and Abbott Laboratories Inc. fighting to stay in the hunt among the major competitors. In a transaction designed to boost the fortunes of both of the lagging companies, Medtronic and Abbott completed a deal to fill in missing parts of each company's respective drug-eluting stent program [See Deal].
There are four components to a successful DES product: a stent, a drug that successfully inhibits restenosis, a polymer coating...