MIAMI, July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Cordis Corporation, the world leader in drug-eluting stents, today announced plans to build a 180,000-square foot manufacturing facility, a development laboratory and a finished goods testing center in Cashel, Ireland. The company expects the new manufacturing facility to be operational during the first half of 2008. It will produce innovative products for interventional cardiology markets outside the United States.
"These new facilities are part of our continuing commitment to innovation and to the physicians who treat patients with coronary artery disease," said Rick Anderson, Company Group Chairman, Johnson & Johnson, and Worldwide Franchise Chairman, Cordis. "They are designed to support demand for the current CYPHER(R) family of drug-eluting stents, including the CYPHER(R) Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent and the CYPHER SELECT(TM) Plus Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent, which has recently received the CE mark. It will also support innovative next-generation interventional and drug-device combination products."
The facility, which will showcase some of the most advanced production equipment available globally, will employ more than 400 people. Approximately 60 additional positions will be created at the finished goods testing center and at the development laboratory, which will help design and validate future generations of manufacturing technology and drug-device products.
About the CYPHER(R) Stent
The CYPHER(R) Stent has been chosen by cardiologists worldwide to treat more than two 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 40 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) Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent, was launched in Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Canada in 2003. CYPHER SELECT(TM) Plus, the first third-generation drug-eluting stent, received the CE mark on June 22, 2006 and will be available outside the U.S. beginning late third quarter 2006.
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.
Cordis Corporation has entered into an exclusive worldwide license with Wyeth for the localized delivery of sirolimus in certain fields of use, including delivery via vascular stenting. Sirolimus, the active drug released for the stent, is marketed by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, under the name Rapamune(R). Rapamune is a trademark of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
Cordis CorporationCONTACT: Christopher Allman of Cordis Corporation, office:+1-786-313-2303, or mobile: +1-305-586-6024, Callman1@crdus.jnj.com
Web site: http://www.cordis.com/
