Cleveland Clinic forgoes Boston Scientific stent

The Cleveland Clinic is putting drug-coated stents from multiple suppliers in its cardiologists' hands for the next year, but it appears industry heavyweight Boston Scientific Corp. isn't in the mix. As a renowned heart hospital, the Cleveland Clinic lends much gravitas to suppliers who win contracts there. In late 2006, Cleveland Clinic signed an 18-month deal that made Boston Scientific a "preferred vendor" at a time when Johnson & Johnson had the only other coated stent available in the U.S. market. After a nearly four-year drought, more devices are now competing for doctors' attention, and multiple companies will be supplying the Cleveland Clinic for the next year now that the Boston Scientific contract has expired, said Clinic representatives.