Natick’s Boston Scientific Corp. said it plans to launch a $40 million program to help keep patients on anti-platelet therapy after having a drug coated stent implanted.
Boston Scientific makes more than half of the drug coated coronary stents in the U.S.
The program would educate patients, keep them on an “adherence program,” and would also include a patient assistance program.
When drug-coated stent recipients fail to maintain a strict drug regimen, the risk of blood clots increases. Stent recipients are prescribed Plavix, which can cost $1,500 per year.
According to the company, the program would begin later this year.
Market researchers reported a more than 70 percent slip in market share for drug-coated coronary stents in February. Drug coated stents reduce the need for repeated stenting, but doctors have passed them over in favor of bare metal stents.
