Next Drug Stent Trials: Medtronic Goes to Europe, Guidant Stays Home

Medtronic and Guidant need to play catch-up in the stent race to see who's going to be third behind Cordis/J&J's Cypher, which is approved in the US, and Boston Scientific's Taxus, which is expected to be approved shortly. A key component of Medtronic's and Guidant's competitive strategies will be deciding whether to do trials in the US vs. doing them internationally. Medtronic is doing its pivotal study in Europe, while Guidant is doing its in the US.

Medtronic Inc. and Guidant Corp. need to play catch-up in the drug-eluting stent (DES) race. With the Cypher from Cordis Corp. , a Johnson & Johnson operating company, already on the market, and the Taxus from Boston Scientific Corp. expected to be approved shortly, Medtronic and Guidant are now competing for third. One important aspect of their respective competitive strategies: doing trials in the US vs. doing them internationally.

Medtronic decided to rely heavily on a European trial because it believes this will be the fastest—and not an unprecedented--method...

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