Boston Scientific’s Liberté Gains CE Mark

Boston Scientific Corp. (Natick, MA) announced that its Liberté drug-eluting coronary stent--described as the company's next-generation Taxus--has been approved for sale in Europe and other international locations where the CE Mark is the regulatory standard.

The bare-metal version of Liberté was approved in Europe in December 2003, and by FDA in April of this year. Boston Scientific expects the drug-eluting version to gain U.S. market entry sometime in 2006.

Like Taxus, Liberté is coated with the drug paclitaxel, which is supplied to Boston Scientific by Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Vancouver, BC). Drug-eluting stents, which are now used in more than 80% of coronary stenting procedures in the United States, have been found to be more effective than their bare-metal counterparts at preventing restenosis, or reclogging of the artery following angioplasty.