Boston Scientific Corporation, under an existing licensing agreement with Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has obtained an exclusive license for the use of paclitaxel and other agents in the coronary vascular field.

Paclitaxel is the active agent in Boston Scientific's Taxus Express2 paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system. Boston Scientific will pay Angiotech an additional one per cent royalty on certain sales in exchange for the exclusive license. In addition, Angiotech granted Boston Scientific the ability to sublicense Angiotech technology in the coronary vascular field to third parties in exchange for approximately $14 million and other contingent amounts.

"We are very pleased to obtain exclusive licensing rights for paclitaxel," said Jim Tobin, president and CEO of Boston Scientific. He added, "This drug has proved to be extremely safe and effective in preventing restenosis, or re-blocking of arteries, in patients suffering from coronary artery disease. We plan to continue to use paclitaxel in our drug-eluting stent programme and to investigate additional applications."