Health and Healthcare
Boston Scientific (BSX) Slaughters It Shareholders Again
Published:
Last Updated:
The list of management screw-ups at Boston Scientific (BSX) is almost too long to number. It bought rival Guidant and added $7 billion in debt in the process. Some of Guidant’s products were not as good as due diligence might have indicated, so, by most measures BSX overpaid.
BSX then hit a big bump in the road for its largest product line which is drug-coated stents. The devices keep arteries open and clots away from the vessel walls. That was working fine until medical studies showed that stents were not as effective as believed. Some surveys even showed patients were better off having their chests cracked open for by-pass surgery, a fate not fit for a dog.
Now it turns out that part of the intellectual property used in the BSX stents does not even belong to the company. According to The Wall Street Journal, based on "a final judgment issued yesterday in federal court, Boston Scientific has to pay Johnson & Johnson for infringing a patent on a bare-metal stent." The price tag is over $700 million.
BSX shares are down almost 8% to $11.34 and investors have to be asking, for the tenth time, why the board keeps current management around.
Douglas A. McIntyre
The average American spends $17,274 on debit cards a year, and it’s a HUGE mistake. First, debit cards don’t have the same fraud protections as credit cards. Once your money is gone, it’s gone. But more importantly you can actually get something back from this spending every time you swipe.
Issuers are handing out wild bonuses right now. With some you can earn up to 5% back on every purchase. That’s like getting a 5% discount on everything you buy!
Our top pick is kind of hard to imagine. Not only does it pay up to 5% back, it also includes a $200 cash back reward in the first six months, a 0% intro APR, and…. $0 annual fee. It’s quite literally free money for any one that uses a card regularly. Click here to learn more!
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings to provide coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.