New TAXUS Liberté Stent demonstrates superior results for treating long lesions

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANPI, TSX: ANP) today announced that its corporate partner, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX), has released comprehensive data from the TAXUS ATLAS clinical program, a series of global, prospective, single-arm trials evaluating the TAXUS(R) Liberté(R) Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent System in a variety of lesions and patient groups. Three-year results from the TAXUS ATLAS Small Vessel and Long Lesion Trials continue to show significant advantages for the newer TAXUS Liberté Stent when compared to the first-generation TAXUS(R) Express(R) Stent. The data were presented at the 21st annual Cardiovascular Research Foundation's (CRF) annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium in San Francisco.

The TAXUS ATLAS Small Vessel Trial was designed to evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of the 2.25 mm diameter TAXUS(R) Liberté(R) Atom(TM) Stent in small coronary vessels. The TAXUS ATLAS Long Lesion Trial was designed to assess the long-term safety and efficacy of the TAXUS(R) Liberté(R) Long 38 mm Stent in patients with long coronary lesions. Boston Scientific remains the only company to offer both 2.25 mm diameter and 38 mm length drug-eluting coronary stents in the U.S.

Three-year results from the TAXUS ATLAS Small Vessel Trial demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the rate of Target Lesion Revascularization (TLR) in small vessels treated with the TAXUS Liberté Atom Stent as compared to the TAXUS Express Atom Stent (10.0% vs. 22.1%,>

"The TAXUS ATLAS Small Vessel Trial showed a sustained and significantly reduced risk of revascularization in small vessels for the TAXUS Liberté Atom Stent as compared to the TAXUS Express Atom Stent out to three years," said Mark A. Turco, M.D., Director of the Center for Cardiac and Vascular Research, Washington Adventist Hospital, and Co-Principal Investigator of the trial. "Positive three-year data from the TAXUS ATLAS Long Lesion Trial showed the TAXUS Liberté Long Stent significantly reduces the risk of MI and cardiac death in long lesions compared to the TAXUS Express Stent, while reporting zero percent stent thrombosis. These data, combined with the previously reported reduction in nine-month late-loss, suggest that these improvements are likely the result of the thinner struts and improved stent geometry of the TAXUS Liberté Stent."

In the TAXUS ATLAS Long Lesion Trial, the TAXUS Liberte Long Stent demonstrated significantly improved safety outcomes when treating long lesions compared to the TAXUS Express Stent. The rate of cardiac death showed a significant 78 percent reduction in patients treated with the TAXUS Liberté Long Stent compared to the TAXUS Express Stent (1.5% vs. 6.7%,>