Boston's longer DES (drug-eluting stent) shelf life:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The US FDA has given Boston Scientific the all-clear to extend the shelf life of its Taxus Express2 paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent from 12 months to 18 months. Boston noted that its extended shelf life is three times longer in the US than that for rival US drug-eluting stent (DES) Cypher, made by Johnson & Johnson. An extended shelf life may help facilitate inventory management for hospitals concerned with product expiration of DESs. Taxus' shelf life outside the US remains unchanged at 18 months.