Boston Scientific reported favorable six-month results from the first 60 patients enrolled in the REPRISE II clinical trial evaluating the safety and performance of the Lotus Valve System in symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis considered at high risk for surgical valve replacement.

Decision Resources forecasts that Bayer/Janssen's Xarelto will be the sales-leading therapy among the novel oral anticoagulants in the combined venous thromboembolism (VTE) markets. Xarelto benefits from its first-to-market advantage for VTE treatment/secondary prophylaxis, the removal of the need for bridging with a low-molecular-weight heparin in the VTE treatment/secondary prophylaxis setting and once-daily dosing. Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer's Eliquis will be Xarelto's closest competitor, but its later launch in both the VTE primary prophylaxis and VTE treatment/secondary prophylaxis markets, as well as its twice-daily dosing, will likely limit its sales relative to Xarelto during the 2012 to 2022 forecast period.

In a significant milestone toward obtaining additional key regulatory approvals for the Synergy drug eluting stent system, Boston Scientific Corp. has completed enrollment in the EVOLVE II randomized, controlled clinical trial. The EVOLVE II trial is designed to further assess the safety and effectiveness of the Synergy stent system and support U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Japanese regulatory approvals for the treatment of atherosclerotic coronary lesions.  The Synergy stent uses the market-leading everolimus drug and features an ultra-thin directional polymer coating that is absorbed by the body shortly after drug elution ends at three months.