The use of coronary stents dropped sharply in April. There are growing concerns that the devices can cause clotting and dangerous health risks. According to a survey from Millennium Research Group "doctors performed about 71,200 stentings in April." That is a drop of 15% from a year ago.
The "Big Three" stent producers, Abbott (ABT), Boston Scientific (BSX), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), played the numbers down. BSX said the drop was temporary. Temporary in their wildest dreams.
The Wall Street Journal writes that the new data indicates that "doctors and patients may be skipping stentings completely in favor of drug treatment." That does not sound temporary.
The stent is a medical miracle that worked like a charm until research found that it did not work well at all. The theory behind the product was simple. Instead of cutting people open for bypass surgery, a doctor could put in a tiny pipe to keep a clogged artery open. The move saved patients time and money. Cardiologists took huge amounts of money away from cardiac surgeons because they could perform the procedure without the help of a scalpel. All a patient had to do was follow the money. The stent was good business for one part of the medical community.
But, more and more studies indicated that stents could be dangerous. They could cause clotting and cardiac complications. Drugs might work as well of better.
The move away from stents has helped devastate Boston Scientific stock, sending it down 50% over the last two years. And, that may not be the end of it.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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