A new study presented Saturday at the American College of Cardiology conference in Orlando, Florida, suggests that Boston Scientific Corp.’s heart stents were better for relieving patients’ pain at less cost that bypass surgery.

 

The study was sponsored by Natick, Massachusetts-based Boston Scientific the world’s largest maker of stents, the drug-coated mesh tubes used to prop open clogged arteries. The study might give a boost to the $2 billion U.S. market for drug-coated stents, according to Chris Warren, a Caris & Co. analyst in New York.

 

Other companies producing such devices include Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Medtronic Inc. (MDT).

 

The study was based on data collected from the "Syntax" study. The patients were followed for a year. The study showed that the stents made by Boston Scientific eased patients’ pain and physical limitations at less cost than bypass surgery.

 

Doctors perform about 250,000 bypasses each year in the U.S., which leads to a huge spending for the American health care system. The study showed that two-thirds of patients in need of heart interventions would fare as well using stents, without the higher expense and longer recuperation of surgery, Donald Baim, Boston Scientific’s chief medical officer, said.

 

However, current data from the study is not sufficient in order to establish the real advantages and disadvantages of both medical procedures. Patients should be followed for another four years, in order to establish the safety of each of the medical procedures.