BOSTON SCIENTIFIC DELAYS GUIDANT DEAL

Boston Scientific has announced that it expects the merger with Guidant to close the week of April 3, delaying the transaction by one week.

The delay will cost Boston Scientific about $4.5 million per day in interest payments. It remains unclear why the deal was delayed.

But Charles Rudnick, a spokesman for Boston Scientific, said the company has been very pleased with the progress made with the regulatory approval process.

"We're within days of our target. We expect to receive the deal. We're just a few days off," he told FDAnews. Rudnick added that the reason for the delay is not described in the regulatory filing, but that he couldn't comment on it.

Boston Scientific stock plummeted following an FDA warning letter Jan. 25.

But Rudnick said the letter was not the reason for the delay. "There is no known connection between the warning letter and the regulatory process for approval," he said.

()a href="http://www.fdanews.com/ddl" target=_blank>