Boston Scientific says signs point to stent rebound

By Susan Kelly

CHICAGO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Boston Scientific Corp (BSX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), battered by a drop in sales of implantable heart devices, on Tuesday said it sees early indications demand for drug-eluting stents will rebound as their benefits outweigh safety fears.

"The evidence is beginning to mount for a recovery. We have not seen one yet, but the indicators are beginning to fall into place," said Boston Scientific Chief Operating Officer Paul LaViolette.

Cardiologists stopped referring patients for the artery-clearing treatment earlier this year after a study showed the implanted wire mesh tubes may be no better than medicines in forestalling death. Now, doctors' confidence in the long-term use of drug therapy is waning, LaViolette said.

More than 80 percent of interventional cardiologists, the specialists who perform stent procedures, now predict stable or increasing usage of drug-eluting stents, LaViolette told Wall Street analysts attending the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics meeting in Washington, D.C. He was citing the company's research. His remarks were Web cast.

The number of patients sent for cardiac diagnostic testing is rising again, after referrals slowed in the wake of the study, LaViolette said. "This should be a leading indicator of actual changes in procedure volume," he said.

Some physicians switched back to use of older-model bare metal stents as still other data pointed to a greater risk of dangerous blood clots forming with the drug-coated varieties -- another strike against the more expensive drug-eluting products. The drug coating they emit is designed to prevent the blood vessels from reclogging.

LaViolette said doctors are now seeing an increase in patients who previously received stents returning for repeat procedures.

Because coronary artery disease is on the rise, the pendulum will swing back in favor of growth in drug-eluting stent usage, LaViolette predicted. The question, however, is when.