ANPI Angiotech Pharmaceuticals - Common Shares (MM)

TAXUS Perseus Clinical Program To Evaluate Platinum Enhanced Drug-Eluting Stent VANCOUVER, July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANPINASDAQ:TSX:NASDAQ:ANP), a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company, along with its corporate partner Boston Scientific Corporation "BSC" (NYSE:BSX), today announced the beginning of clinical trial enrollment in studies evaluating its third-generation paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent, the TAXUS(R) Element(TM) Stent. The TAXUS PERSEUS clinical program will collectively enroll approximately 1,500 patients at 100 U.S. and international centers. The TAXUS Element Stent features BSC's proprietary Platinum Chromium Alloy, designed specifically for stents. This alloy, coupled with an innovative new stent design, is designed to enable thinner struts, increased flexibility, and a lower profile while improving radial strength, recoil, and radiopacity. In addition, the TAXUS Element Stent platform incorporates new balloon technology, intended to improve upon BSC's market-leading Maverick(R) Balloon Catheter technology. The principal investigator for the trials is Dean J. Kereiakes, M.D., Medical Director at The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center and The Lindner Research Center in Cincinnati. The co-principal investigator is Louis A. Cannon, M.D, of the Cardiac and Vascular Research Center of Northern Michigan in Petoskey, Michigan. Patient enrollment of the TAXUS PERSEUS clinical program began July 13th and is expected to be completed within 12 months. "With the innovative design of the TAXUS Element Stent System, we anticipate seeing a significant advancement in the performance offered in a drug-eluting stent," said Dr. Kereiakes. "This new platform, designed for improved deliverability, should allow us to bring the long-term proven performance of the TAXUS Stent to even the most complex and challenging anatomy." The TAXUS PERSEUS clinical program will evaluate the efficacy and safety of the TAXUS Element Stent in two studies. The first study, TAXUS PERSEUS Workhorse (A Prospective Evaluation in a Randomized Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of the Use of the TAXUS(R) Element(TM) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System for the Treatment of De Novo Coronary Artery Lesions), will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the TAXUS Element Stent compared to BSC's first generation drug-eluting stent, the TAXUS(R) Express2(TM) Stent. This study will evaluate 1,264 patients with "workhorse" lesions from 2.75 to 4.0 millimeters. The primary endpoint of the workhorse study is target lesion failure (TLF) at 12 months, and its secondary endpoint is in-segment percent diameter stenosis at nine months. The second study is the TAXUS PERSEUS Small Vessel study which will compare the TAXUS Element Stent to a historic control (TAXUS V de novo bare-metal Express(R) Coronary Stent System). This study will include 224 patients with lesions from 2.25 up to 2.75 millimeters. The primary endpoint of the small vessel study is in-stent late loss at nine months, and its secondary endpoint is TLF at 12 months. Study success is dependent on both endpoints. "As Boston Scientific develops new platforms, we are excited to see that our technology continues to be leveraged in the next-generation of drug-eluting stents," said Dr. William Hunter, President and CEO of Angiotech. The TAXUS Element Stent is under development and is not available for sale. Note on Forward Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release that are not based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words "believes," "may," "plans," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipates," "intends," "expects" and similar expressions, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All such statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of applicable securities legislation. 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. Many such risks, uncertainties and other factors are taken into account as part of our assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements and include, among others, the following; general economic and business conditions, both nationally and in the regions in which we operate; market demand; technological changes that could impact our existing products or our ability to develop and commercialize future products; competition; existing governmental regulations and changes in, or the failure to comply with, governmental regulations; decisions, and the timing of decisions, made by health regulatory agencies regarding approval of our technology and products and decisions regarding reimbursement where applicable; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialization activities; and any other factors that may affect performance. In addition, our business is subject to certain operating risks that may cause the actual results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this report to differ materially from our actual results. These operating risks include; poor performance of the product in the clinical setting; adverse events related to the use of the product; improper estimation of the size of the product markets; adverse results or unexpected delays in clinical development processes; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; our ability to successfully complete preclinical and clinical development of our products; changes in business strategy or development plans; our failure to obtain patent protection for discoveries; loss of patent protection resulting from third party challenges to our patents; commercialization limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; our ability to obtain rights to technology from licensors; liability for patent claims and other claims asserted against us; our ability to obtain and enforce timely patent and other intellectual property protection for our technology and products; the ability to enter into, and to maintain, corporate alliances relating to the development and commercialization of our technology and products; market acceptance of our technology and products; our ability to successfully manufacture, market and sell our products; the continued availability of capital to finance our activities; our ability to continue to integrate into our business the operations of American Medical Instruments Holdings, Inc. and our ability to achieve the operational and other synergies and the other commercial or financial benefits expected as a result of that acquisition; and any other factors referenced in our annual information form and other filings with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities or the SEC. Given these uncertainties, assumptions and risk factors, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We disclaim any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus to reflect future results, events or developments. BSC acquired worldwide exclusive rights from Angiotech to use paclitaxel to coat its coronary stent products and has co-exclusive rights to certain peripheral vascular and non-vascular products. (R), (TM) Trademarks of Boston Scientific Corporation About Angiotech Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company with over 1,500 dedicated employees. Angiotech discovers, develops and markets innovative treatment solutions for diseases or complications associated with medical device implants, surgical interventions and acute injury. To find out more about Angiotech (NASDAQ:ANPINASDAQ:TSX:NASDAQ:ANP), please visit our website at http://www.angiotech.com/. CONTACT: Jodi Regts, Manager, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (604) 221-7930, DATASOURCE: Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Jodi Regts, Manager, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (604) 221-7930,

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