Cordis Corporation Launches CYPHER SELECT(TM) Plus Stent

Paris (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Shipment of First Third-Generation Drug-eluting Stent Starts

Cordis Corporation, the world leader in the drug-eluting stent
market, announced today the launch of the CYPHER SELECT(TM) Plus
Stent. The first third-generation drug-eluting stent is now available
to physicians and patients in many markets around the world,
including countries in Western and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific and
the Middle East. Cordis expects to offer the CYPHER SELECT(TM) Plus
Stent in most markets outside the United States and Japan within the
next two quarters.

"This is welcome news for interventional cardiologists and
patients worldwide," said Philip Urban, M.D., F.E.S.C., Director of
Invasive Cardiology, La Tour Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland, and the
coordinating investigator of e-SELECT Registry, a global registry
designed to assess the performance of the CYPHER SELECT(TM)
Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent and CYPHER SELECT(TM) Plus Stent in
daily clinical practice. "By combining an innovative delivery
technology with clinically proven efficacy and safety, the CYPHER
SELECT(TM) Plus Stent will enhance a physician's ability to
successfully reach and treat coronary artery blockages."

In addition to its flexible stent design and short tip, the CYPHER
SELECT(TM) Plus Stent Delivery System features the CYPH2ONIC(TM)
Hydrophilic Coating Technology. According to Cordis' lab testing
results, this coating is significantly more lubricious than previous
sirolimus-eluting stent delivery systems. This combination aims to
facilitate the delivery of the stent even when the lesion is located
in a tortuous blood vessel and to allow interventional cardiologists
to complete smoother procedures.

The CYPHER SELECT(TM) Plus Stent technology adds to a long
tradition of innovation at Cordis. The company is the developer and
manufacturer of the first drug-coated stent, the CYPHER(R)
Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent, and the first next-generation
drug-coated stent, the CYPHER SELECT(TM) Stent. Collectively, Cordis'
sirolimus-eluting stents are widely considered a major breakthrough
in interventional cardiology.

Stents are small metal mesh tubes used to prop open blood vessels
after an angioplasty is completed. Cordis' drug-eluting stents also
release the drug sirolimus to prevent re-blockage on the treatment
site, a common occurrence with bare-metal stents. Re-blockages
require patients to return to the hospital for additional procedures,
which potentially include open-heart bypass surgery.

Since their introduction, the CYPHER(R) Stent and the CYPHER
SELECT(TM) Stent have jointly been chosen by cardiologists worldwide
to treat more than 2 million patients with coronary artery disease.
Their safety and efficacy is supported by a robust clinical trial
program that includes more than 60 studies, with many additional
independent clinical trials, and hundreds of publications in the most
respected medical journals.

"The CYPHER SELECT(TM) Plus Stent brings exceptional
deliverability to the unsurpassed efficacy and safety profile for
which the sirolimus-eluting stents are widely recognized," said
Dennis Donohoe, M.D., Vice President, Worldwide Clinical and
Regulatory Affairs, Cordis Corporation. "With up to five years of
clinical follow-up, Cordis' drug-eluting stents continue to be used
by physicians worldwide for a broad range of patients, from complex
to routine."

The CYPHER SELECT(TM) Plus Stent received the CE mark in June
2006. The mark, which stands for "European Conformity" in French,
signals that a device has been approved for commercialization in the
European Union. It also facilitates expedient regulatory approval in
many countries outside Europe.

About the CYPHER(R) Stent

The CYPHER(R) Stent has been chosen by cardiologists worldwide to
treat more than 2 million patients with coronary artery disease. The
safety and efficacy of the device is supported by a robust clinical
trial program that includes more than 60 studies, inclusive of
independent clinical trials, that examine the performance of the
CYPHER(R) Stent in a broad range of patients.

Developed and manufactured by Cordis Corporation, the CYPHER(R)
Stent is currently available in more than 80 countries and has the
longest-term clinical follow-up of any drug-eluting stent. The first
next-generation drug-eluting stent, the CYPHER SELECT(TM) Stent, was
launched in Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Canada in 2003.
The CYPHER SELECT(TM) Plus Stent, the first third-generation
drug-eluting stent, received the CE mark in June 2006 and is now
available in many markets outside the United States.

About Cordis Corporation

Cordis Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson company, is a worldwide
leader in developing and manufacturing interventional vascular
technology. Through the company's innovation, research and
development, physicians worldwide are better able to treat the
millions of patients who suffer from vascular disease.

ots Originaltext: Cordis Medizinische Apparate GmbH
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Contacts: Terri Mueller, Johnson & Johnson MD&D, EMEA, Office:
+33-(1) 55-00-4433, Mobile: +33-6-27-36-65-88, Email:
TMueller1@jnjfr.jnj.com. Mariela Melendez, Cordis Corporation,
Office: +1-(786)-313-2776, Mobile: +1-(786)-218-4084, Email:
MMelen10@crdus.jnj.com