In Brief: Johnson & Johnson/IsoStent
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Johnson & Johnson/IsoStent: J&J's Cordis unit bolsters its coronary stent pipeline through the acquisition of the BX Stent from privately held IsoStent. Currently in development, the BX utilizes a "slotted tube" design to provide "greater flexibility" during implantation and "superior radial strength following deployment," J&J maintains. The device, for which J&J previously had obtained an option for international marketing rights, is intended for use in saphenous vein grafts as well as "normal stenting procedures." Also acquired is development-stage technology for catheter-based intravascular radiation therapy to help prevent restenosis. J&J and Belmont, California-based IsoStent will continue to collaborate under a March 1996 agreement to develop radioactive versions of J&J's Palmaz-Schatz coronary stent ("The Gray Sheet" April 22, 1996, I&W-1)...