Ennis & Ennis is dedicated to helping victims of defective and recalled traditional stents as well as the newer drug eluting stents throughout the country. If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of stent malfunction you may be entitled to compensation. For more information about your legal rights or to find out the latest recall information or for a free legal consultation contact our stent injury attorneys today.

-TheHeart.org

12/05/2007 - Cordis/Johnson & Johnson broke new ground in the world of direct-to-consumer marketing by launching a television commercial for its Cypher drug-eluting stent (DES) during a Thanksgiving Day football game, New York Times reporter Barnaby Feder writes in the Times today. Citing a Cordis/J&J spokesperson, Feder writes that US TV watchers will have "more than 175 opportunities to see the 60-second spot, entitled 'Life Wide Open,' during other games and on cable news programs before the end of the year." The company has also taken out ads in national newspapers and magazines, as well as in medical journals.

The Times article notes that the company's motives for advertising a niche medical device directly to consumers (despite the fact that many "have never heard of stents") is likely twofold: to shore up Cypher's reputation after a year of mostly negative press and to establish brand recognition in advance of the marketing approval for Medronic's Endeavor and Abbott's Xience V stents, expected in the coming months. In the latter half of 2006 and in early 2007, use of drug-eluting stents dipped after the release of several studies pointing to the increased risk of stent thrombosis following DES implantation and after the publication of the COURAGE trial, which suggested stents were no better than optimal medical therapy in patients with stable angina. Over the past six months, however, a host of registry studies and meta-analyses have suggested that DES do not increase the risk of death or MI as compared with bare-metal stents and have an edge in terms of reducing repeat procedures.

Cordis chief medical officer, Dr David Kandzari, is quoted in Feder's article as saying, "We think we have a good safety story to tell, and we want to encourage heart patients to talk about it with their doctors. . . . And we want them to know Cypher's track record when newer, less-proven stents reach the market."

Another cardiologist quoted in the article, Dr William E Boden (State University of New York, Buffalo), who was a co-principal investigator on the COURAGE study, calls the company's tactics "deplorable."

"You've got to wonder whether it's a sign of desperation," he told the Times.

If you or a loved one have been injured during surgical placement of a stent or have been injured as a result of an implanted drug eluting stent (drug coated stent) such as the Boston Scientific Taxus stent or the Johnson & Johnson Cypher stent you may be entitled to compensation. To learn more about the stent recalls, for information regarding your legal rights, or the possiblilty of a class action lawsuit contact our stent lawyers for a free, confidential, case evaluation today. Fill out our online case evaluation form or call us toll free at 1-800-856-6405.