In one of the most dramatic corporate acquisitions in recentmemory, Boston Scientific, a large manufacturer of medical devices,outbid industry giant Johnson & Johnson to purchase GuidantCorporation earlier this year. Joining Boston Scientific inthis effort was Abbott Laboratories, which paid $5 billion forGuidant's endovascular-device business. The outcome could hardlyhave been anticipated when Johnson & Johnson agreed to purchaseGuidant for $25 billion in December 2004. In the wake of disclosuresof lawsuits over allegedly defective Guidant devices, Guidantagreed to reduce the purchase price to $21.5 billion. Then BostonScientific stepped in with a higher . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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Dr. Garber is a staff physician at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, Calif., where he is also associate director of the Center for Health Care Evaluation; and he is a professor of medicine, economics, and health research and policy and director of the Center for Health Policy at Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
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