Boston Scientific Wins Ruling on Stent Drug

Boston Scientific Corp. won a judgment against Cook Inc. in a dispute over a drug used to coat stents, devices that prop open heart arteries after angioplasty.

The news sent Boston Scientific shares up $1.74, or 6.9%, to $26.86. Shares of Guidant Corp., Cook’s partner in the dispute and the top maker of stents in the U.S., fell $2.45, or 7.2%, to $31.70. Both trade on the NYSE.

U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras ruled in Chicago that Cook’s agreement with Guidant to develop a stent coated with the cancer drug paclitaxel violated a contract Cook had with Boston Scientific. Guidant and Boston Scientific are trailing Johnson & Johnson in the race to bring a drug-coated stent to market, an advance that’s expected to double the $2-billion annual market for the devices.

Paclitaxel is the generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Taxol. Cook, a closely held company, plans to appeal the ruling, said Guidant Chief Executive Ronald Dollens. The court scheduled a hearing for June 27.