Boston Scientific Corporation announced it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Taxus® Liberte® Atom™ Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System, a next-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) specifically designed for treating small coronary vessels. It was approved for use in vessels as small as 2.25 mm in diameter and joins the Taxus Express® Atom Stent as the only drug-eluting stents approved for small vessel use in the U.S. The Company plans to begin a full U.S. launch of Taxus Liberte Atom next month.

Mark Turco, MD, FACC, FSCAI, Director of the Center for Cardiac and Vascular Research at Washington Adventist Hospital, Takoma Park, Maryland, said "The Taxus Liberte Atom Stent provides clear design and deliverability advantages. Additionally, in the TAXUS Atlas Small Vessel clinical trial, the Taxus Liberte Atom Stent yielded a two-year target lesion revascularization rate that was 60 percent less than the Taxus Express Atom Stent."

Data from numerous clinical studies have shown that an estimated 10 percent of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions have small vessels (<2.5 mm). Until recently, many physicians were inclined to implant bare-metal stents in these patients since they were the only approved stenting option for small vessels. Last year's launch of the Taxus Express Atom Stent offered an alternative treatment choice for patients with small vessels who will now have the additional option of the Taxus Liberte Atom Stent.

The Taxus Liberte Stent features design improvements over the Company's first-generation Taxus Express Stent, including thinner struts to allow better stent deliverability and conformability, as well as uniform stent geometry for lesion coverage and drug distribution.

Boston Scientific offers a wide range of coronary stent sizes. The Company expects to expand its stent portfolio later this year with the first 38 mm long DES, the Taxus Liberte Long Stent, which is currently under review with the FDA. For more information, please visit www.bostonscientific.com.