ANPI Angiotech Pharmaceuticals - Common Shares (MM)

TAXUS(R) Liberte receives CE Mark VANCOUVER, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANPINASDAQ:TSX:NASDAQ:ANP) corporate partner Boston Scientific Corporation ("BSC") today announced that it has received CE Mark for its TAXUS(R) Liberte(TM) paclitaxel-eluting stent system, the world's first "next- generation" drug- eluting stent system. BSC plans to launch the product in European markets and other key CE Mark-dependent international markets immediately. TAXUS Liberte was launched earlier this year in select international markets and is expected to launch in the United States in 2006. "We are very pleased to receive European approval for our next-generation drug-eluting stent system," said Paul LaViolette, Chief Operating Officer of Boston Scientific. "The TAXUS Liberte stent system is designed to improve deliverability and conformability, providing physicians with state-of-the-art stent performance coupled with proven paclitaxel-eluting technology. We are delighted that European physicians and patients can now benefit from this highly advanced technology for the treatment of coronary artery disease." "The TAXUS Liberte stent system combines the new Liberte stent platform with the unparalleled rigor of the TAXUS clinical program," said John Ormiston, M.D., interventional cardiologist at Mercy Hospital and the Green Lane Cardiovascular Unit of the Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. "The TAXUS Liberte system offers enhanced ability to deliver across complex lesions, especially for patients with complex anatomies and tortuous lesions, and is designed to provide uniform drug delivery." TAXUS Liberte is the first drug-eluting coronary stent system to incorporate a next-generation stent platform. The Liberte stent features the Veriflex(TM) stent design, an extremely flexible cell geometry with thin struts and uniform strut distribution. This new platform has been designed to offer improved deliverability and conformability in challenging anatomy. TAXUS Liberte also features the enhanced TrakTip(TM) catheter tip, mounted on the Maverick(2)(TM) delivery catheter, to provide better lesion crossability. In addition, the TrakTip catheter tip has a low lesion-entry profile, also intended to further improve crossability. BSC received the CE Mark for the bare metal Liberte stent system in December 2003 while U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval was granted for the bare-metal version of the Liberte stent in January of this year. In May, BSC announced thirty-day safety data from its ATLAS pivotal study, designed to support U.S. FDA approval of the TAXUS Liberte stent system. BSC's first-generation drug-eluting stent system, the TAXUS(R) Express(2)(TM) paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system, is the worldwide leader in the coronary stent market. The TAXUS Express(2) system is supported by the most comprehensive randomized, controlled clinical program of any drug- eluting stent system. BSC acquired worldwide exclusive rights from Angiotech to use paclitaxel to coat its coronary stent products and has co-exclusive rights to other vascular and non-vascular products. Vancouver-based Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company pioneering the combination of pharmaceutical compounds with medical devices and biomaterials to both create novel solutions for poorly addressed disease states and dramatically improve surgical outcomes. To find out more about Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANPINASDAQ:TSX:NASDAQ:ANP), please visit our website at http://www.angiotech.com/. Statements contained herein that are not based on historical or current fact, including without limitation statements containing the words "anticipates," "believes," "may," "continue," "estimate," "expects," "may" and "will" and words of similar import, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following: general economic and business conditions, both nationally and in the regions in which the Company operates; technology changes; competition; changes in business strategy or development plans; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; existing governmental regulations and changes in, or the failure to comply with, governmental regulations; liability and other claims asserted against the Company; and other factors referenced in the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or the Canadian securities regulators. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Company Contacts: Todd Young, Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (604) 221-7676 ext 6933 Rui Avelar, Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs and Communications Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc (604) 221-7676 ext 6996 Media Relations: Wendy Carhart Waggener Edstrom Bioscience (503) 443-7354 email: DATASOURCE: Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Company Contacts: Todd Young, Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, (604) 221-7676 ext 6933; Rui Avelar, Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs and Communications, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc, (604) 221-7676 ext 6996; Media Relations: Wendy Carhart, Waggener Edstrom Bioscience, (503) 443-7354, email:

Copyright