NitroMed's research programme with Boston Scientific under which NitroMed's nitric oxide-enhancing technology was being studied in connection with restenosis in balloon angioplasty, will conclude on December 31, 2005.

Restenosis is the closing or narrowing of an artery that was previously opened by a cardiac procedure such as angioplasty.

According to a company release, NitroMed intends to continue to explore the use of its nitric oxide-enhancing technology in medical devices. The collaboration contributed about $1.5 million to NitroMed's revenue this year

NitroMed is a research-based emerging pharmaceutical company and the maker of BiDil (isosorbide dinitrate/hydralazine hydrochloride), an orally administered medicine that may be prescribed in the United States for the treatment of heart failure in self-identified black patients.

The company develops novel pharmaceuticals and safer, more effective versions of existing drugs to treat underserved patient populations. NitroMed's development efforts are primarily directed at expanding its cardiovascular franchise.