VANCOUVER, April 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company, today reported that its corporate partner, Boston Scientific Corporation "BSC" has received approval for the sale of its TAXUS Liberte paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system in Canada. BSC reported that Health Canada's Therapeutic Products Directorate (TPD), the authority that regulates pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices, has approved its use. BSC said it plans to launch the product immediately in Canada.
"The TAXUS Liberte Stent is a major advance in stent development and raises the bar for drug-eluting stent systems," said Serge Doucet, M.D., Cathlab Director at the Montreal Heart Institute. "It offers enhanced ability to conform to the vessel wall and deliver across some of the most challenging lesions. This innovation is welcome news for interventional cardiologists and patients in Canada who suffer from coronary artery disease."
"As Boston Scientific develops new platforms, we are excited to see that our technology continues to be leveraged in the next-generation of drug-eluting stents and pleased that Canadian physicians and patients can now benefit from the TAXUS Liberte for the treatment of coronary artery disease," said Dr. William Hunter, President and CEO of Angiotech.
Currently the leading drug-eluting stents worldwide, TAXUS Stent Systems have been evaluated by the industry's most extensive randomized, controlled clinical trial program, as well as studied in more than 35,000 real-world patients enrolled in post-approval registries. To date, approximately four million TAXUS Stents have been implanted worldwide.
The TAXUS Liberte Stent has previously been approved for sale in Europe and other international markets and is currently awaiting approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is not available for sale in the United States.
Note on Forward Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release that are not based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words "believes," "may," "plans," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipates," "intends," "expects" and similar expressions, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All such statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements may involve, but are not limited to, comments with respect to our strategies or future actions, our targets, expectations for our financial condition and the results of, or outlook for, our operations, research development and product and drug development. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Many such risks, uncertainties and other factors are taken into account as part of our assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements and include, among others, the following: general economic and business conditions, both nationally and in the regions in which we operate; market demand; technological changes that could impact our existing products or our ability to develop and commercialize future products; competition; existing governmental regulations and changes in, or the failure to comply with, governmental regulations; adverse results or unexpected delays in drug discovery and clinical development processes; decisions, and the timing of decisions, made by health regulatory agencies regarding approval of our technology and products; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialization activities or consummate acquisitions; the accuracy of our estimations of the size of the market, and the potential market, for our products in specific disease areas; sales numbers and future guidance publicly provided by Boston Scientific Corporation regarding sales of their paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent products; and any other factors that may affect performance. In addition, our business is subject to certain operating risks that may cause the actual results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this report to differ materially from our actual results. These operating risks include: our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; our ability to successfully complete preclinical and clinical development of our products; changes in business strategy or development plans; our failure to obtain patent protection for discoveries; loss of patent protection resulting from third party challenges to our patents; commercialization limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; our ability to obtain rights to technology from licensors; liability for patent claims and other claims asserted against us; our ability to obtain and enforce timely patent and other intellectual property protection for our technology and products; the ability to enter into, and to maintain, corporate alliances relating to the development and commercialization of our technology and products; market acceptance of our technology and products; our ability to successfully manufacture, market and sell our products; the ability of Boston Scientific Corporation to successfully manufacture, market and sell their paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent products; the continued availability of capital to finance our activities; our ability to achieve the financial benefits expected as a result of the acquisition of American Medical Instruments Holdings, Inc.; and any other factors referenced in our annual information form and other filings with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities or the SEC.
Given these uncertainties, assumptions and risk factors, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We disclaim any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect future results, events or developments.
BSC acquired worldwide exclusive rights from Angiotech to use paclitaxel to coat its coronary stent products and has co-exclusive rights to certain peripheral vascular and non-vascular products.
(R) Registered trademarks of Boston Scientific Corporation About Angiotech
Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company with over 1,500 dedicated employees. Angiotech discovers, develops and markets innovative treatment solutions for diseases or complications associated with medical device implants, surgical interventions and acute injury. To find out more about Angiotech , please visit our website at http://www.angiotech.com/.
CONTACT: Deirdre Neary, Manager, Investor Relations, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (604) 222-7056,
