Boston Scientific said today it has not seen less usage of its drug-coated stents, and Johnson & Johnson defended the safety of its stents, after a report that their use was declining on safety concerns.
The Wall Street Journal reported a decline in the use of drug-coated stents at several major hospitals because of concerns about the formation of blood clots.
Drug-coated stents are tiny wire mesh tubular devices that prop open surgically-cleared coronary arteries and also deliver drugs to keep the arteries from renarrowing as a result of scar tissue formation.
A Boston Scientific spokesman said the company has not seen a trend toward bare metal stents.
J&J defended the safety profile of its product, saying a three-year study showed 'no significant difference' in the rate of blood clots when using its Cypher drug-coated stent and a bare metal stent.
J&J and Boston Scientific are the only two companies that are approved to sell drug-coated stents in the United States, the biggest market for the lucrative devices.
