Device maker to diversify products

Boston: Boston Scientific Corp’s growth areas will include asthma, diabetes, obesity, hypertension and women’s health, chief executive officer Raymond Elliott said.

The goal in diversifying the device maker’s business is to increase earnings by $5 (€3.66) a share during the next 3 years, Elliott told investors at a meeting in New York. The conference is the first full “investor day” for Natick, Massachusetts-based Boston Scientific since November 2006. The company hasn’t had a full-year profit since 2005.

Boston Scientific, the second-biggest maker of heart devices, faces an industry-wide slowdown in its two biggest markets, heart-rhythm devices and cardiac stents used to open clogged arteries.

“We have quietly, carefully put together a plan to drive growth,” Elliott told investors.

Boston Scientific has 150 products in its research pipeline, he said. The company sees “huge opportunity” to expand sales in emerging markets, including China and India, and will invest as much as $40m in 2011 to develop those markets, Elliott said.