BOSTON SCIENTIFIC GETS GUIDANT

[BIZ/LIFE-SCI: Brussels, January 25]
The struggle for Guidant, a stent maker between Johnson & Johnson, which has a major base in Belgium, and Boston Scientific, which has its European distribution center in Kerkrade, South Limburg, has come to a conclusion. Guidant, a medical devices company has gone to Boston Scientific for USD 27bn — no further bid was made by Johnson & Johnson, the parent company of Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium. Guidant will owe Johnson & Johnson USD 705m because they had accepted the last bid and now have broken the agreement.

Guidant was sought after by both companies, not for its pacemakers but because of its new type of stent. Boston Scientific produces the drug-eluting stents and both Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific both have a big share in the stent market, which is a profitable business. The new Guidant product formed a threat to these profits.
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