2011 Form 10K
Table of Contents

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
þ
 
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, or
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011
o
 
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Commission File No. 1-11083
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
DELAWARE
 
04-2695240
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
 
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
ONE BOSTON SCIENTIFIC PLACE, NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS 01760-1537
(Address of principal executive offices)
(508) 650-8000
(Registrant’s telephone number)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
COMMON STOCK, $.01 PAR VALUE PER SHARE
 
NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
(Title of each class)
 
(Name of exchange on which registered)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
NONE
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes: þ No o
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes: o No þ
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes: þ No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorted period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes: þ No o
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. þ
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
      Large accelerated filer þ
 
Accelerated filer o
 
Non-accelerated filer o
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
 
Smaller reporting company o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes: o No þ
The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $10.4 billion based on the closing price of the registrant’s common stock on June 30, 2011, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.
The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock as of January 31, 2012 was 1,451,346,240.
Documents Incorporated by Reference
Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.



Table of Contents

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PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS
The Company
Boston Scientific Corporation is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices that are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. Our mission is to improve the quality of patient care and the productivity of healthcare delivery through the development and advocacy of less-invasive medical devices and procedures. This is accomplished through the continuing refinement of existing products and procedures and the investigation and development of new technologies that are least- or less-invasive, reducing risk, trauma, procedure time and the need for aftercare; cost- and comparatively-effective and, where possible, reduce or eliminate refractory drug use. When used in this report, the terms “we,” “us,” “our” and “the Company” mean Boston Scientific Corporation and its divisions and subsidiaries.
Our history began in the late 1960s when our co-founder, John Abele, acquired an equity interest in Medi-tech, Inc., a research and development company focused on developing alternatives to surgery. In 1969, Medi-tech introduced a family of steerable catheters used in some of the first less-invasive procedures performed. In 1979, John Abele joined with Pete Nicholas to form Boston Scientific Corporation, which indirectly acquired Medi-tech. This acquisition began a period of active and focused marketing, new product development and organizational growth. Since then, we have advanced the practice of less-invasive medicine by helping physicians and other medical professionals treat a variety of diseases and conditions and improve patients’ quality of life by providing alternatives to surgery and other medical procedures that are typically traumatic to the body.
Our net sales have increased substantially since our formation over thirty years ago. Our growth has been fueled in part by strategic acquisitions designed to improve our ability to take advantage of growth opportunities in the medical device industry. On April 21, 2006, we consummated our acquisition of Guidant Corporation. With this acquisition, we became a major provider in the worldwide cardiac rhythm management (CRM) market, enhancing our overall competitive position and further diversifying our product portfolio. This acquisition has established us as one of the world’s largest cardiovascular device companies and a global leader in microelectronic therapies. This and other strategic acquisitions have helped us to add promising new technologies to our pipeline and to offer one of the broadest product portfolios in the world for use in less-invasive procedures. We believe that the depth and breadth of our product portfolio has also enabled us to compete more effectively in the current healthcare environment of cost containment, managed care, large buying groups, government contracting, hospital consolidation, and international expansion and will generally assist us in navigating through the complexities of the global healthcare market, including healthcare reform.
Business Strategy
Our strategy is to lead global markets for less-invasive medical devices by developing and marketing innovative products, services and therapies that address unmet patient needs, provide superior clinical outcomes and demonstrate proven economic value. The following are the five elements of our strategic plan:
Prepare our People
We believe that our success will be driven by strong leadership, robust communication and the high caliber of our employees. We have strengthened our focus on talent assessment and leadership development, and are committed to developing our people and providing them with opportunities to contribute to the Company’s growth and success. We have defined the specific leadership criteria necessary for our people to allow us to win in our global marketplace. As a demonstration of our commitment to the preparation of our people, we have also developed a Leadership Academy, a set of integrated training and enrichment programs designed to support our goal of developing a culture of leadership at all levels within the organization.
Optimize the Company
We plan to adapt our existing business model to allow us to operate in a more efficient manner and allow for enhanced execution, while providing better value to hospitals, better solutions to physicians and better outcomes to patients. We have several restructuring initiatives designed to strengthen and position us for long-term success. We believe these programs will increase our profitability while strengthening our operational effectiveness and enhancing our competitiveness. We are simplifying our manufacturing plant structure by transferring certain production lines among facilities and by closing other facilities. We are relocating select administrative and functional activities; standardizing and automating certain processes and activities; rationalizing organizational reporting structures; and expanding our ability to deliver best-in-class global business services. We are improving both the efficiency and focus of our corporate research and development to strengthen our innovation efforts, and are organizing our clinical organization to take full

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advantage of the global resources available to conduct more cost-effective clinical studies, accelerate the time to bring new products to market, and gain access to worldwide technological developments that we can implement across our product lines. In addition, we are transforming the way we conduct research and development and are scrutinizing our cost structure, which we expect will enhance our cost efficiency and effectiveness.
Win Global Market Share
Through our global presence, we seek to increase net sales and market share, and leverage our relationships with leading physicians and their clinical research programs. We are re-aligning our International regions to be more effective in executing our business strategy and are renewing our focus on selling in order to maximize our opportunities in countries whose economies and healthcare sectors are growing rapidly. We recently created a new Asia-Pacific regional organization under new leadership to further increase our capabilities and strengthen our position in the world's fastest growing region. We also significantly increased sales in China, Brazil and India and continued investments in infrastructure in those countries.
Expand our Sales and Marketing Focus
We are expanding our focus on sales, using new analytics, best practices and technologies to improve our sales methods and tools. We are also increasing our global sales focus through targeted sales force expansions and through delivering new global best practice capabilities in crucial areas such as training, management, forecasting and planning, and reaching the economic customer on a global basis. We offer products in numerous product categories, which are used by physicians throughout the world in a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The breadth and diversity of our product lines permit medical specialists and purchasing organizations to satisfy many of their less-invasive medical device requirements from a single source. In addition, we endeavor to expand our footprint in the hospital beyond our current product offerings to provide us greater strategic mass.
Realign our Business Portfolio
We are directing our research and development and business development efforts to products with higher returns and increasing our discipline and metrics to improve returns on our investments. We are actively managing and realigning our business portfolio to optimize operational leverage and accelerate profitable, sustainable revenue growth, while preserving our ability to meet the needs of physicians and their patients. We expect to continue to invest in our core franchises, and also investigate opportunities to further expand our presence in, and diversify into, priority growth areas. In the first quarter of 2011, we closed several acquisitions targeting several of our priority growth areas, and closed the sale of our Neurovascular business to Stryker Corporation.
We believe that the execution of this strategy will drive innovation, accelerate profitable revenue growth and increase shareholder value.
Products
During 2011, our products were offered for sale by seven core businesses - Interventional Cardiology, CRM, Endoscopy, Peripheral Interventions, Urology/Women’s Health, Neuromodulation, and Electrophysiology. In January 2011, we closed the sale of our Neurovascular business to Stryker Corporation.
During 2011, we derived 33 percent of our sales from our Interventional Cardiology business, 27 percent of our sales from our CRM business, 16 percent of our sales from our Endoscopy business, 10 percent of our sales from our Peripheral Interventions business, six percent of our sales from our Urology/Women’s Health business, four percent of our sales from our Neuromodulation business, and two percent of our sales from our Electrophysiology business. Two percent of our 2011 sales were derived from the Neurovascular business that we sold to Stryker Corporation. We continue to generate sales from the Neurovascular business pursuant to our supply and distribution agreements with Stryker; however, these sales are at significantly lower levels and at reduced gross profit margins as compared to periods prior to the divestiture. The following section describes certain of our product offerings:
Interventional Cardiology
Coronary Stent Systems
Our broad, innovative product offerings have enabled us to become a leader in the interventional cardiology market. This leadership is due in large part to our coronary stent product offerings. Coronary stents are tiny, mesh tubes used in the treatment of coronary artery disease, which are implanted in patients to prop open arteries and facilitate blood flow to and from the heart. We have further

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enhanced the outcomes associated with the use of coronary stents, particularly the processes that lead to restenosis (the growth of neointimal tissue within an artery after angioplasty and stenting), through dedicated internal and external product development, strategic alliances and scientific research of drug-eluting stent systems. We are the only company in the industry to offer a two-drug platform strategy with our paclitaxel-eluting and everolimus-eluting stent system offerings, and we offer a broad range of stent sizes. We currently market our next-generation internally-developed and self-manufactured PROMUS® Element™ stent system in the U.S., our Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) region and certain Inter-Continental countries, including China and India. We market the PROMUS® everolimus-eluting stent system, supplied to us by Abbott Laboratories, in Japan. We also market our TAXUS® paclitaxel-eluting stent line, including our third-generation TAXUS® Element™ paclitaxel-eluting stent system in the U.S., Japan, EMEA and certain Inter-Continental countries. We expect to launch our PROMUS® Element™ stent system in Japan at or before mid-2012.
Coronary Revascularization
We market a broad line of products used to treat patients with atherosclerosis, a principal cause of coronary artery obstructive disease which is characterized by a thickening of the walls of the coronary arteries and a narrowing of arterial openings caused by the progressive development of deposits of plaque. Our product offerings include balloon catheters, rotational atherectomy systems, guide wires, guide catheters, embolic protection devices, and diagnostic catheters used in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA).
Intraluminal Ultrasound Imaging
We market a family of intraluminal catheter-directed ultrasound imaging catheters and systems for use in coronary arteries and heart chambers as well as certain peripheral vessels. The iLab® Ultrasound Imaging System continues as our flagship console and is compatible with our full line of imaging catheters. This system is designed to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of blocked vessels and heart disorders.
Structural Heart Therapy

In January 2011, as part of our priority growth initiatives, we completed the acquisition of Sadra Medical, Inc. Sadra is developing a fully repositionable and retrievable device for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) to treat patients with severe aortic stenosis. The Lotus™ Valve System consists of a stent-mounted tissue valve prosthesis and catheter delivery system for guidance and placement of the valve. The low-profile delivery system and introducer sheath are designed to enable accurate positioning, repositioning and retrieval at any time prior to release of the aortic valve implant. TAVR is one of the fastest growing medical device markets.

In addition, in March 2011, we completed the acquisition of Atritech, Inc. Atritech has developed a novel device designed to close the left atrial appendage in patients with atrial fibrillation who are at risk for ischemic stroke. The WATCHMAN® Left Atrial Appendage Closure Technology, developed by Atritech, is the first device proven in a randomized clinical trial to offer an alternative to anticoagulant drugs, and is approved for use in CE Mark countries. We expect to complete enrollment in our U.S. clinical trial by the end of 2012 and expect to receive FDA approval in 2013.
Cardiac Rhythm Management
We develop, manufacture and market a variety of implantable devices that monitor the heart and deliver electricity to treat cardiac abnormalities, including:
 
Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) systems used to detect and treat abnormally fast heart rhythms (tachycardia) that could result in sudden cardiac death, including implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) systems used to treat heart failure; and
Implantable pacemaker systems used to manage slow or irregular heart rhythms (bradycardia), including implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker (CRT-P) systems used to treat heart failure.
 
A key component of many of our implantable device systems is our remote LATITUDE® Patient Management System, which enables physicians to monitor device performance remotely while patients are in their homes, allowing for more frequent monitoring in order to guide treatment decisions. In the fourth quarter of 2011, we began the U.S. launch of our next-generation line of defibrillators, INCEPTA™, ENERGEN™ and PUNCTUA™. This product line includes new features designed to improve functionality, diagnostic capability and ease of use, and delivers excellent longevity, which combined with our advantage in size, makes it highly attractive to physicians and patients. Additionally, this next-generation of defibrillators includes models with our 4-SITE lead delivery system which is built off our highly reliable RELIANCE platform. We expect to launch the INGENIO™ family of pacemaker systems in EMEA and in the U.S. during the first half of 2012.

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Endoscopy
Gastroenterology
We market a broad range of products to diagnose, treat and ease a variety of digestive diseases, including those affecting the esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, duodenum, and colon. Common disease states include esophagitis, portal hypertension, peptic ulcers as well as esophageal, biliary, pancreatic and colonic cancer. We offer the Radial Jaw® 4 Single-Use Biopsy Forceps, which are designed to enable collection of large high-quality tissue specimens without the need to use large channel therapeutic endoscopes. Our exclusive line of RX Biliary System™ devices are designed to provide greater access and control for physicians to diagnose and treat challenging conditions of the bile ducts, such as removing gallstones, opening obstructed bile ducts and obtaining biopsies in suspected tumors. We also market the Spyglass® Direct Visualization System for direct imaging of the pancreatico-biliary system. The Spyglass® System is the first single-operator cholangioscopy device that offers clinicians a direct visualization of the pancreatico-biliary system and includes supporting devices for tissue acquisition, stone management and lithotripsy. Our products also include the WallFlex® family of stents, in particular, the WallFlex® Biliary line and WallFlex® Esophageal line; and in 2011, we launched our Advanix Biliary Plastic Stent System and the Expect Endoscopic Ultrasound Aspiration Needle in the U.S. and certain international markets. In addition, we continue to see increased adoption of our Resolution® Clip Device, an endoscopic mechanical clip designed to treat gastrointestinal bleeding.
Interventional Bronchoscopy
We market devices to diagnose, treat and ease pulmonary disease systems within the airway and lungs. Our products are designed to help perform biopsies, retrieve foreign bodies from the airway, open narrowings of an airway, stop internal bleeding, and ease symptoms of some types of airway cancers. Our product line includes pulmonary biopsy forceps, transbronchial aspiration needles, cytology brushes and tracheobronchial stents used to dilate narrowed airway passages or for tumor management. In addition, as part of our priority growth initiatives, in October 2010, we completed our acquisition of Asthmatx, Inc. Asthmatx designs, manufactures and markets a less-invasive, catheter-based bronchial thermoplasty procedure for the treatment of severe persistent asthma. The Alair® Bronchial Thermoplasty System, developed by Asthmatx, has both CE Mark and FDA approval and is the first device-based asthma treatment approved by the FDA.
Peripheral Interventions
We sell various products designed to treat patients with peripheral disease (disease which appears in blood vessels other than in the heart and in the biliary tree), including a broad line of medical devices used in percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and peripheral vascular stenting. Our peripheral product offerings include stents, balloon catheters, wires, peripheral embolization devices and vena cava filters. In 2010 and 2011, we launched several of our market-leading products internationally, including the EPIC™ self-expanding nitinol stent system in certain international markets, and the Carotid WALLSTENT® stent system in Japan. We launched three new peripheral angioplasty balloons in 2011, including our next-generation Mustang™ percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) balloon, our Coyote™ balloon catheter, a highly deliverable and ultra-low profile balloon dilatation catheter designed for a wide range of peripheral angioplasty procedures and our Charger™ PTA Balloon Catheter, a 0.035” percutaneous transluminal angioplasty balloon catheter designed for post-stent dilatation as well as conventional balloon angioplasty to open blocked peripheral arteries. With our Coyote, Mustang and Charger devices, we now offer best-in-class balloons across all size platforms, which has enabled us to regain the number one PTA balloon position in the U.S. In addition, we expect to receive FDA approval of the EPIC™ self-expanding nitinol stent system during 2012, which will allow us to offer a complete line of advanced iliac solutions in the U.S.
In February 2011, we announced the acquisitions of S.I. Therapies and ReVascular Therapeutics, Inc., which add to our PI portfolio a re-entry catheter and intraluminal chronic total occlusion (CTO) crossing device, enabling endovascular treatment in cases that typically cannot be treated with standard endovascular devices. We have commenced a limited market release of our OFFROAD™ re-entry catheter system in certain international markets, and in February 2012, we launched our TRUEPATH™ intraluminal CTO device in the U.S. We expect to launch our TRUEPATH™ device in EMEA during the first half of 2012, and to expand the launch of our OFFROAD™ system in our international markets throughout 2012. We believe that offering these devices will enhance our position in assisting physicians in addressing the challenges of treating complex peripheral lesions.
We also sell products designed to treat patients with non-vascular disease (disease that appears outside the blood system). Our non-vascular suite of products include biliary stents, drainage catheters and micro-puncture sets designed to treat, diagnose and ease various forms of benign and malignant tumors. We continue to market our extensive line of Interventional Oncology product solutions, including the recently launched Renegade® HI-FLO™ Fathom® microcatheter and guidewire system and Interlock™ - 35 Fibered IDC™ Occlusion System for peripheral embolization.
Embolic Protection

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Our FilterWire EZ™ Embolic Protection System is a low profile filter designed to capture embolic material that may become dislodged during a procedure, which could otherwise travel into the microvasculature where it could cause a heart attack or stroke. It is commercially available in the U.S., our EMEA region and certain Inter-Continental countries for multiple indications, including the treatment of disease in peripheral, coronary and carotid vessels. It is also available in the U.S. for the treatment of saphenous vein grafts and carotid artery stenting procedures.
Urology/Women’s Health
Our Urology/Women’s Health division develops, manufactures and sells devices to treat various urological and gynecological disorders. We sell a variety of products designed to treat patients with urinary stone disease, stress urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse and excessive uterine bleeding. We offer a full line of stone management products, including ureteral stents, wires, lithotripsy devices, stone retrieval devices, sheaths, balloons and catheters.
We continue to expand our focus on Women’s Health. We market a range of devices for the treatment of conditions such as female urinary incontinence, pelvic floor reconstruction (rebuilding of the anatomy to its original state), and menorrhagia (excessive menstrual bleeding). We offer a full breadth of mid-urethral sling products, sling materials, graft materials, pelvic floor reconstruction kits, and suturing devices. We market our Genesys Hydro ThermAblator® (HTA) system, a next-generation endometrial ablation system designed to ablate the endometrial lining of the uterus in premenopausal women with menorrhagia. The Genesys HTA System features a smaller and lighter console, simplified set-up requirements, and an enhanced graphic user interface and is designed to improve operating performance.
Neuromodulation
Within our Neuromodulation business, we market the Precision® Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) system, used for the management of chronic pain. This system delivers pain management by applying an electrical signal to mask pain signals traveling from the spinal cord to the brain. The Precision System utilizes a rechargeable battery and features a programming system. In 2011, we launched our Clik™ Anchor for our Precision® Plus™ SCS System, the world's first rechargeable SCS device for chronic pain management. In the fourth quarter of 2011, we received FDA approval for and launched the Infinion™ 16 Percutaneous Lead, the world's first and only 16-contact percutaneous lead. We also market the Linear™ 3-4 and Linear 3-6 Percutaneous Leads for use with our SCS systems, which are designed to provide physicians more treatment options for their chronic pain patients. These leads provide the broadest range of percutaneous lead configurations in the industry. We believe that we continue to have a technology advantage over our competitors with proprietary features such as Multiple Independent Current Control, which is intended to allow the physician to target specific areas of pain more precisely.  We are looking to strengthen the clinical evidence with spinal cord stimulation and are committed to studies designed to demonstrate cost effectiveness or demonstrate the value of proprietary features in our SCS system.  We expect to complete our VANTAGE Study, a European clinical trial for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease using our Vercise™ Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) System, in 2013.  We believe we have an exciting opportunity in DBS with our ability to customize the field designed to precisely stimulate the target without extraneous stimulation of adjacent areas that may cause unwanted side effects.  In addition, in January 2011, we completed the acquisition of Intelect Medical, Inc., a development-stage company developing advanced visualization and programming for the Vercise™ system. We believe this acquisition leverages the core architecture of our Vercise™ platform and will advance our technology in the field of deep-brain stimulation.  
Electrophysiology
Within our Electrophysiology business, we develop less-invasive medical technologies used in the diagnosis and treatment of rate and rhythm disorders of the heart. Included in our product offerings are radio frequency (RF) generators, steerable RF ablation catheters, intracardiac ultrasound catheters, diagnostic catheters, delivery sheaths, and other accessories. Our leading products include the Blazer® and Blazer Prime® line of temperature ablation catheters, designed to deliver enhanced performance, responsiveness, and durability. Our cooled ablation portfolio includes the only closed-loop irrigated catheter on the market, the Chilli II® cooled ablation catheter, and the newly launched Blazer™ Open-Irrigated ablation catheter with a unique Total Tip Cooling™ Design. 
Innovation
Our approach to innovation combines internally-developed products and technologies with those we may obtain externally through strategic acquisitions and alliances. Our research and development efforts are focused largely on the development of next-generation and novel technology offerings across multiple programs and divisions. Since 1995, we have undertaken strategic acquisitions to assemble the lines of business necessary to achieve the critical mass that allows us to continue to be a leader in the medical device industry. We expect to continue to invest in our core franchises, and also investigate opportunities to further expand our presence in, and diversify into, priority growth areas. We have closed several acquisitions targeting several of these areas. In 2010, we

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completed the acquisition of Asthmatx, Inc., and in 2011, we completed the acquisitions of Sadra Medical, Inc., Intelect Medical, Inc., and Atritech, Inc., each discussed above. There can be no assurance that technologies developed internally or acquired through acquisitions and alliances will achieve technological feasibility, obtain regulatory approvals or gain market acceptance, and any delay in the development or approval of these technologies may adversely impact our future growth.
Research and Development
Our investment in research and development is critical to driving our future growth. We expended $895 million on research and development in 2011, $939 million in 2010 and $1.035 billion in 2009, representing approximately 12 to 13 percent of our net sales each year. Our investment in research and development reflects:

regulatory compliance, clinical science, and internal research and development programs, as well as other programs obtained through our strategic acquisitions and alliances; and

sustaining engineering efforts which incorporate customer feedback into continuous improvement efforts for currently marketed and next-generation products.
We have directed our development efforts toward regulatory compliance and innovative technologies designed to expand current markets or enter new markets. We are transforming the way we conduct research and development and are scrutinizing our cost structure, which we expect will enhance our cost efficiency and effectiveness. Our approach to new product design and development is through focused, cross-functional teams. We believe that our formal process for technology and product development aids in our ability to offer innovative and manufacturable products in a consistent and timely manner. Involvement of the research and development, clinical, quality, regulatory, manufacturing and marketing teams early in the process is the cornerstone of our product development cycle. This collaboration allows these teams to concentrate resources on the most viable and clinically relevant new products and technologies, and focus on bringing them to market in a timely and cost-effective manner. In addition to internal development, we work with hundreds of leading research institutions, universities and clinicians around the world to develop, evaluate and clinically test our products. We believe our future success will depend upon the strength of these development efforts.
Marketing and Sales
During 2011, we marketed our products to over 13,000 hospitals, clinics, outpatient facilities and medical offices in nearly 98 countries worldwide. The majority of our net sales are derived from countries in which we have direct sales organizations. We also have a network of distributors and dealers who offer our products in certain countries and markets, which accounts for our remaining sales. We expect to continue to leverage our infrastructure in markets where commercially appropriate and use third parties in those markets where it is not economical or strategic to establish or maintain a direct presence. We are not dependent on any single institution and no single institution accounted for more than ten percent of our net sales in 2011 or 2010; however, large group purchasing organizations, hospital networks and other buying groups have become increasingly important to our business and represent a substantial portion of our U.S. net sales. We have a dedicated corporate sales organization in the U.S. focused principally on selling to major buying groups and integrated healthcare networks. We consistently strive to understand and exceed the expectations of our customers. Each of our business groups maintains dedicated sales forces and marketing teams focusing on physicians who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of different medical conditions. We believe that this focused disease state management enables us to develop highly knowledgeable and dedicated sales representatives and to foster collaborative relationships with physicians. We believe that we have positive working relationships with physicians and others in the medical industry, which enable us to gain a detailed understanding of new therapeutic and diagnostic alternatives and to respond quickly to the changing needs of physicians and their patients.
International Operations
International net sales accounted for approximately 50 percent of our net sales in 2011. Net sales and operating income attributable to our 2011 geographic regions are presented in Note O – Segment Reporting to our 2011 consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report, incorporated by reference herein. Our international structure operates through three international business units: EMEA, consisting of Europe, the Middle East and Africa; Japan; and Inter-Continental, consisting of our Asia Pacific and the Americas reporting units. Maintaining and expanding our international presence is an important component of our long-term growth plan. Through our international presence, we seek to increase net sales and market share, leverage our relationships with leading physicians and their clinical research programs, accelerate the time to bring new products to market, and gain access to worldwide technological developments that we can implement across our product lines. We are investing in infrastructure in emerging markets such as China and India in order to introduce new products and strengthen our sales capabilities in these countries. A discussion of the risks associated with our international operations is included in Item 1A of this Annual Report.
As of December 31, 2011, we had six international manufacturing facilities, including three in Ireland, two in Costa Rica and one

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in Puerto Rico. Approximately 53 percent of our products sold worldwide during 2011 were manufactured at these facilities. Additionally, we maintain international research and development capabilities in Ireland, as well as physician training centers in France and Japan.
Manufacturing and Raw Materials
We are focused on continuously improving our supply chain effectiveness, strengthening our manufacturing processes and increasing operational efficiencies within our organization. By shifting global manufacturing along product lines, we are able to leverage our existing resources and concentrate on the development and commercial launch of new products and the enhancement of existing products. We are implementing new systems designed to provide improved quality and reliability, service, greater efficiency and lower supply chain costs, and have substantially increased our focus on process controls and validations, supplier controls, distribution controls and providing our operations teams with the training and tools necessary to drive continuous improvement in product quality. In addition, we continue to focus on examining our operations and general business activities to identify cost-improvement opportunities in order to enhance our operational effectiveness, including our Plant Network Optimization program.
Our products are designed and manufactured in technology centers around the world, either by us or third parties. In most cases, the manufacturing of our products is concentrated in one or a few locations. We consistently monitor our inventory levels, manufacturing and distribution capabilities, and maintain recovery plans to address potential disruptions that we may encounter. However, significant interruptions in our manufacture of products for an extended duration may result in loss of market share, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Many components used in the manufacture of our products are readily fabricated from commonly available raw materials or off-the-shelf items available from multiple supply sources. Certain items are custom made to meet our specifications. We believe that in most cases, redundant capacity exists at our suppliers and that alternative sources of supply are available or could be developed within a reasonable period of time. We also have an on-going program to identify single-source components and to develop alternative back-up supplies and we regularly re-address the adequacy and abilities of our suppliers to meet our needs. However, in certain cases, we may not be able to quickly establish additional or replacement suppliers for specific materials, components or products, largely due to the regulatory approval system and the complex nature of our manufacturing processes and those of our suppliers. A reduction or interruption in supply, an inability to develop and validate alternative sources if required, or a significant increase in the price of raw materials, components or products could adversely affect our operations and financial condition, particularly materials or components related to our CRM products and drug-eluting stent systems. In addition, our products require sterilization prior to sale and we utilize a mix of internal resources and third-party vendors to perform this service. We believe we have redundant capabilities that are sufficient to sterilize our products; however, to the extent we or our third-party sterilizers are unable to sterilize our products, whether due to capacity, regulatory or other constraints, we may be unable to transition to other providers in a timely manner, which could have an adverse impact on our operations.
Certain products are manufactured for us by third parties. We are currently reliant on Abbott Laboratories for our supply of everolimus-eluting stent systems in Japan. Our supply agreement with Abbott for everolimus-eluting stent systems extends through June 30, 2012. At present, we believe that our supply of everolimus-eluting stent systems from Abbott, coupled with our current launch plans for our internally-developed and self-manufactured next-generation PROMUS® Element™ everolimus-eluting stent system in Japan, currently expected at or before mid-2012, will be sufficient to meet our customer demand. However, any changes in anticipated timing of regulatory approval or launch of our PROMUS® Element™ stent system in Japan could result in an inability to meet our customer demand for everolimus-eluting stent systems. We received FDA approval and launched our next-generation internally-developed and self-manufactured PROMUS® Element™ Plus stent system in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2011, as discussed in Item 7 of this Annual Report.
Quality Assurance
We are committed to providing high quality products to our customers. To meet this commitment, we have implemented updated quality systems and concepts throughout our organization. Our quality system starts with the initial product specification and continues through the design of the product, component specification process and the manufacturing, sale and servicing of the product. Our quality system is intended to build in quality and process control and to utilize continuous improvement concepts throughout the product life. These systems are designed to enable us to satisfy the various international quality system regulations, including those of the FDA with respect to products sold in the U.S. All of our manufacturing facilities, including our U.S. and European distribution centers, are certified under the ISO13485:2003 quality system standard, established by the International Standards Organization, for medical devices, which requires, among other items, an implemented quality system that applies to component quality, supplier control, product design and manufacturing operations. This certification can be obtained only after a complete audit of a company’s quality system by an independent outside auditor. Maintenance of the certification requires that these facilities undergo periodic re-examination.

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In addition, we maintain an on-going initiative to seek ISO14001 certification at our plants around the world. ISO14001 is a globally recognized standard for Environmental Management Systems, established by the International Standards Organization, which provides a voluntary framework to identify key environmental aspects associated with our business. We engage in continuous environmental performance improvement efforts, and at present, 11 of our 15 manufacturing and distribution facilities have attained ISO14001 certification. We are committed to achieving ISO14001 certification at all of our major manufacturing facilities and Tier I distribution centers worldwide.
Competition
We encounter significant competition across our product lines and in each market in which we sell our products from various companies, some of which may have greater financial and marketing resources than we do. Our primary competitors include Abbott Laboratories; Medtronic, Inc.; St. Jude Medical, Inc.; and Johnson & Johnson (including its subsidiary, Cordis Corporation) as well as a wide range of medical device companies that sell a single or limited number of competitive products or participate in only a specific market segment. We also face competition from non-medical device companies, such as pharmaceutical companies, which may offer alternative therapies for disease states intended to be treated using our products.
We believe that our products compete primarily on their ability to safely and effectively perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in a less-invasive manner, as well as clinical outcomes, ease of use, comparative effectiveness, reliability and physician familiarity. In the current environment of managed care, economically-motivated buyers, consolidation among healthcare providers, increased competition and declining reimbursement rates, we have been increasingly required to compete on the basis of price, value, reliability and efficiency. We believe the current global economic conditions and healthcare reform measures could put additional competitive pressure on us, including on our average selling prices, overall procedure rates and market sizes. We recognize that our continued competitive success will depend upon our ability to offer products with differentiated clinical outcomes; create or acquire innovative, scientifically advanced technology; apply our technology cost-effectively and with superior quality across product lines and markets; develop or acquire proprietary products; attract and retain skilled personnel; obtain patent or other protection for our products; obtain required regulatory and reimbursement approvals; continually enhance our quality systems; manufacture and successfully market our products either directly or through outside parties; and supply sufficient inventory to meet customer demand.
Regulatory Environment
The medical devices that we manufacture and market are subject to regulation by numerous regulatory bodies, including the FDA and comparable international regulatory agencies. These agencies require manufacturers of medical devices to comply with applicable laws and regulations governing the development, testing, manufacturing, labeling, marketing and distribution of medical devices. Devices are generally subject to varying levels of regulatory control, the most comprehensive of which requires that a clinical evaluation be conducted before a device receives approval for commercial distribution.
In the U.S., approval to distribute a new device generally can be met in one of three ways. The first process requires that a pre-market notification (510(k) Submission) be made to the FDA to demonstrate that the device is as safe and effective as, or substantially equivalent to, a legally marketed device that is not subject to pre-market approval (PMA), i.e., the “predicate” device. An appropriate predicate device for a pre-market notification is one that (i) was legally marketed prior to May 28, 1976, (ii) was approved under a PMA but then subsequently reclassified from Class III to Class II or I, or (iii) has been found to be substantially equivalent and cleared for commercial distribution under a 510(k) Submission. Applicants must submit performance data to establish that the device is substantially equivalent to a predicate device. In some instances, data from human clinical trials must also be submitted in support of a 510(k) Submission. If so, these data must be collected in a manner that conforms to the applicable Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) regulations. The FDA must issue a decision finding substantial equivalence before commercial distribution can occur. Changes to existing devices covered by a 510(k) Submission that are not significant can generally be made without additional 510(k) Submissions. Changes that could significantly affect the safety or effectiveness of the device, such as significant changes in designs or materials, may require a new 510(k) with data to support that the modified device remains substantially equivalent. In 2011, the FDA released numerous draft proposals on the 510(k) process. Several of the FDA’s proposals could increase the regulatory burden on our industry, including those that could increase the frequency of 510(k) submissions, as well as their complexity and cost, and therefore could delay time to market for certain high-risk Class II medical devices.
The second process requires the submission of a PMA application to the FDA to demonstrate that the device is safe and effective for its intended use. This approval process applies to most Class III devices. In this case, two steps of FDA approval are generally required before marketing in the U.S. can begin. First, we must comply with the applicable IDE regulations in connection with any human clinical investigation of the device in the U.S. Second, the FDA must review our PMA application, which contains, among other things, clinical information acquired under the IDE. The FDA will approve the PMA application if it finds that there is a reasonable assurance that the device is safe and effective for its intended purpose.

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The third process requires that an application for a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) be made to the FDA for the use of a Humanitarian Use Device (HUD). An HUD is intended to benefit patients by treating or diagnosing a disease or condition that affects, or is manifested in, fewer than 4,000 individuals in the U.S. per year. The application submitted to the FDA for an HDE is similar in both form and content to a PMA application, but is exempt from the effectiveness requirements of a PMA. This approval process demonstrates that there is no comparable device available to treat or diagnose the condition, the device will not expose patients to unreasonable or significant risk, and the benefits to health from use outweigh the risks. The HUD provision of the regulation provides an incentive for the development of devices for use in the treatment or diagnosis of diseases affecting smaller patient populations.
The FDA can ban certain medical devices; detain or seize adulterated or misbranded medical devices; order repair, replacement or refund of these devices; and require notification of health professionals and others with regard to medical devices that present unreasonable risks of substantial harm to the public health. The FDA may also enjoin and restrain a company for certain violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Safe Medical Devices Act pertaining to medical devices, or initiate action for criminal prosecution of such violations. International sales of medical devices manufactured in the U.S. that are not approved by the FDA for use in the U.S., or that are banned or deviate from lawful performance standards, are subject to FDA export requirements. Exported devices are subject to the regulatory requirements of each country to which the device is exported. Some countries do not have medical device regulations, but in most foreign countries, medical devices are regulated. Frequently, regulatory approval may first be obtained in a foreign country prior to application in the U.S. due to differing regulatory requirements; however, other countries, such as China for example, require approval in the country of origin first. Most countries outside of the U.S. require that product approvals be recertified on a regular basis, generally every five years. The recertification process requires that we evaluate any device changes and any new regulations or standards relevant to the device and conduct appropriate testing to document continued compliance. Where recertification applications are required, they must be approved in order to continue selling our products in those countries.
In the European Union, we are required to comply with applicable medical device directives (including the Medical Devices Directive and the Active Implantable Medical Devices Directive) and obtain CE Mark certification in order to market medical devices. The CE Mark applied following approval from an independent notified body or declaration of conformity, is an international symbol of adherence to quality assurance standards and compliance with applicable European Medical Devices Directives. We are also required to comply with foreign regulations in each country where we commercialized products, such as the requirement that we obtain approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) before we can launch new products in Japan.
Our global regulatory environment is becoming increasingly unpredictable which could increase the time, cost and complexity of obtaining regulatory approvals for our products. Several countries that did not have regulatory requirements for medical devices have established such requirements in recent years and other countries have expanded on existing regulations. Certain regulators are exhibiting less flexibility and are requiring local data in addition to global data. We expect this global regulatory environment will continue to evolve which could impact our ability to obtain future approvals for our products, or could increase the cost and time to obtain such approvals in the future.
We are also subject to various environmental laws, directives and regulations both in the U.S. and abroad. Our operations, like those of other medical device companies, involve the use of substances regulated under environmental laws, primarily in manufacturing and sterilization processes. We do not believe that compliance with environmental laws will have a material impact on our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position. However, given the scope and nature of these laws, there can be no assurance that environmental laws will not have a material impact on our results of operations. We assess potential environmental contingent liabilities on a regular basis. At present, we are not aware of any such liabilities that would have a material impact on our business.
We believe that sound environmental, health and safety performance contributes to our competitive strength while benefiting our customers, shareholders and employees. We are committed to continuous improvement in these areas by reducing pollution, the depletion of natural resources, and our overall environmental footprint. Specifically, we are working to optimize energy and resource usage, ultimately reducing greenhouse gas emissions and waste. We are certified to the FTSE4Good Corporate Social Responsibility Index, managed by The Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange, which measures the performance of companies that meet globally recognized standards of corporate responsibility. This certification recognizes our dedication to those standards, and it places us in a select group of companies with a demonstrated commitment to responsible business practices and sound environmental policies.
Government Affairs
We maintain a global Government Affairs presence, headquartered in Washington D.C., to actively monitor and advocate on a myriad of legislation and policies impacting us, both on a domestic and an international front. The Government Affairs office

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works closely with members of Congress and committee staff, the White House and Administration office, state legislatures and regulatory agencies, and governments overseas on issues affecting our business. Our proactive approach and depth of political and policy expertise are aimed at having our positions heard by federal, state and global decision-makers, while also advancing our business objectives by educating policymakers on our positions, key priorities and the value of our technologies. The Government Affairs office also manages our political action committee and works closely with trade groups on issues affecting our industry and healthcare in general.
Healthcare Reform
Political, economic and regulatory influences are subjecting the healthcare industry to potential fundamental changes that could substantially affect our results of operations. Government and private sector initiatives to limit the growth of healthcare costs (including price regulation); competitive pricing; coverage and payment policies; comparative effectiveness of therapies; technology assessments; and health care delivery structure reforms, are continuing in many countries where we do business, including the U.S. These changes are causing the marketplace to put increased emphasis on the delivery of more cost-effective treatments. Although we believe our less-invasive products and technologies generate favorable clinical outcomes, value and cost efficiency, the resources necessary to demonstrate value to our customers, patients, payers, and other stakeholders may be significant. In addition, uncertainty remains regarding the continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and impact to our business.
Further, the federal government, as part of the ACA, and certain state governments have enacted laws aimed at increasing transparency in relationships between medical device, biologics and pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals (HCPs). As a result, we are required by law to report many types of payments made and items of value provided to HCPs licensed by certain states. We also expect to be required to make similar reports at the federal level starting in 2013. We have devoted substantial time and financial resources in order to develop and implement enhanced structure, policies, systems and processes in order to comply with these U.S. federal and state legal and regulatory requirements. In addition, certain foreign jurisdictions are currently acting to implement similar laws. Failure to adhere to our policies, comply with required laws or implement adequate policies and practices to address changes to legal and regulatory requirements could have a negative impact on our results of operations.
Third-Party Coverage and Reimbursement
Our products are purchased principally by hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers around the world that typically bill various third-party payors, including governmental programs (e.g., Medicare and Medicaid), private insurance plans and managed care programs, for the healthcare services provided to their patients. We expect that pricing of medical devices will remain under pressure as alternative payment models such as bundling, value-based purchasing and accountable care organizations (ACOs) begin to take shape. In addition, patients and clinicians are becoming more informed on the risks and benefits of alternative treatments as comparative effectiveness research findings are beginning to be disseminated. Therefore, we believe that compelling clinical and economic data will become increasingly important to demonstrate efficacy and justify the economic benefits of technology purchases.
Third-party payors may provide or deny coverage for certain technologies and associated procedures based on independently determined assessment criteria. Reimbursement by third-party payors for these services is based on a wide range of methodologies that may reflect the services’ assessed resource costs, clinical outcomes and economic value. These reimbursement methodologies confer different, and sometimes conflicting, levels of financial risk and incentives to healthcare providers and patients, and these methodologies are subject to frequent refinements. Third-party payors are also increasingly adjusting reimbursement rates, often downwards, and challenging the prices charged for medical products and services. There can be no assurance that our products will be automatically covered by third-party payors, that reimbursement will be available or, if available, that the third-party payors’ coverage policies will not adversely affect our ability to sell our products profitably.
Initiatives to limit the growth of healthcare costs, including price regulation, are also underway in many countries in which we do business. Implementation of cost containment initiatives and healthcare reforms in significant markets such as the U.S., Japan, Europe and other international markets may limit the price of, or the level at which reimbursement is provided for, our products and may influence a physician’s selection of products used to treat patients.
Proprietary Rights and Patent Litigation
We rely on a combination of patents, trademarks, trade secrets and non-disclosure agreements to protect our intellectual property. We generally file patent applications in the U.S. and foreign countries where patent protection for our technology is appropriate and available. As of December 31, 2011, we held more than 15,000 patents, and had approximately 8,500 patent applications pending worldwide that cover various aspects of our technology. In addition, we hold exclusive and non-exclusive licenses to a

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variety of third-party technologies covered by patents and patent applications. There can be no assurance that pending patent applications will result in the issuance of patents, that patents issued to or licensed by us will not be challenged or circumvented by competitors, or that these patents will be found to be valid or sufficiently broad to protect our technology or to provide us with a competitive advantage. In the aggregate, these intellectual property assets and licenses are of material importance to our business; however, we believe that no single patent, technology, trademark, intellectual property asset or license, except for those relating to our drug-eluting coronary stent systems, is material in relation to our business as a whole.
We rely on non-disclosure and non-competition agreements with employees, consultants and other parties to protect, in part, trade secrets and other proprietary technology. There can be no assurance that these agreements will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, that others will not independently develop equivalent proprietary information or that third parties will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets and proprietary knowledge.
There has been substantial litigation regarding patent and other intellectual property rights in the medical device industry, particularly in the areas in which we compete. We continue to defend ourselves against claims and legal actions alleging infringement of the patent rights of others. Adverse determinations in any patent litigation could subject us to significant liabilities to third parties, require us to seek licenses from third parties, and, if licenses are not available, prevent us from manufacturing, selling or using certain of our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Additionally, we may find it necessary to initiate litigation to enforce our patent rights, to protect our trade secrets or know-how and to determine the scope and validity of the proprietary rights of others. Patent litigation can be costly and time-consuming, and there can be no assurance that our litigation expenses will not be significant in the future or that the outcome of litigation will be favorable to us. Accordingly, we may seek to settle some or all of our pending litigation, particularly to manage risk over time. Settlement may include cross licensing of the patents that are the subject of the litigation as well as our other intellectual property and may involve monetary payments to or from third parties.
We are substantially self-insured with respect to intellectual property infringement claims, among other types of claims. The absence of significant third-party insurance coverage increases our potential exposure to unanticipated claims or adverse decisions. See Item 3 and Note K – Commitments and Contingencies to our 2011 consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report for a discussion of intellectual property and other litigation and proceedings in which we are involved. In management’s opinion, we are not currently involved in any legal proceeding other than those specifically identified in Note K, which, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.
Risk Management

We have an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program in which we provide coordinated oversight, control and continuous improvement of processes and tools used to identify and manage business risk. On an annual basis, we reassess our risks based on the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) ERM framework in the areas of strategic risk, financial risk, external risk, operational risk and compliance risk with the goal of achieving our business strategies and objectives. This assessment, which engages key individuals from our Board of Directors and management, provides increased visibility into the risks we face, highlights risk interdependencies, and seeks to improve overall risk management effectiveness.  

Current Economic Climate
Our results of operations could be substantially affected by global economic factors and local operating and economic conditions. Our customers may experience financial difficulties or be unable to borrow money to fund their operations which may adversely impact their ability or decision to purchase our products, particularly capital equipment, or to pay for our products they do purchase on a timely basis, if at all. We cannot predict to what extent global economic conditions, including the increased focus on healthcare systems and costs in the U.S. and abroad may negatively impact our average selling prices, our net sales and profit margins, procedural volumes and reimbursement rates from third-party payors.
Employees
As of December 31, 2011, we had approximately 24,000 employees, including approximately 12,000 in operations; 6,000 in selling, marketing and distribution; 4,000 in clinical, regulatory and research and development; and 2,000 in administration. Of these employees, we employed approximately 10,000 outside the U.S., approximately 6,000 of whom are in the manufacturing operations function. We believe that the continued success of our business will depend, in part, on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, and we are committed to developing our people and providing them with opportunities to contribute to our growth and success.
Community Outreach

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In line with our corporate mission to improve the quality of patient care and the productivity of healthcare delivery, we are committed to making more possible in the communities where we live and work. We bring this commitment to life by supporting global, national and local health and education initiatives, striving to improve patient advocacy, adhering to strong ethical standards that deliver on our commitments, and minimizing our impact on the environment.
A prominent example of our ongoing commitment to patients is our Close the Gap program, which addresses disparities in cardiovascular (CV) care for the underserved patient populations of women, black Americans, and Latino Americans. Close the Gap increases awareness of cardiovascular risk factors, teaches healthcare providers about cultural beliefs and barriers to treatment, and advocates for measures that help ensure all patients receive the cardiovascular care they need. By sponsoring programs to help educate healthcare professionals on disparities in CV care and by working via partnerships in the community, these messages reached over one million people.
Through the Boston Scientific Foundation, established in 2001, we fund non-profit organizations in our local communities. Our community grants focus on increasing access to quality healthcare and improving educational opportunities, particularly with regards to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Additionally, Boston Scientific has committed to contributing $15 million to our Close the Gap program and STEM education through 2013.
Seasonality
Our worldwide sales do not reflect any significant degree of seasonality; however, customer purchases have historically been lighter in the third quarter of the year, as compared to other quarters. This reflects, among other factors, lower demand during summer months in the northern hemisphere, particularly in European countries.
Available Information
Copies of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge on our website (www.bostonscientific.com) as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the material with or furnish it to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Printed copies of these posted materials are also available free of charge to shareholders who request them in writing from Investor Relations, One Boston Scientific Place, Natick, MA 01760-1537. Information on our website or linked to our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements that we may make from time to time, including statements contained in this report and information incorporated by reference into this report, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words like “anticipate,” “expect,” “project,” “believe,” “plan,” “may,” “estimate,” “intend” and similar words. These forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and estimates using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding our financial performance; our business and growth strategy, including our priority growth initiatives; integration of acquired businesses and technologies; our ability to successfully separate our Neurovascular business; the timing and impact of our restructuring initiatives, expected costs and cost savings; our intention not to pay dividends; use of our cash flow; investments in our business; goodwill impairment analysis and charges; changes in the market and our market share; product performance; product development and iterations; the strength of our technologies and pipeline; timing of regulatory approvals; our regulatory and quality compliance; expected research and development efforts and the reallocation of research and development expenditures; new and existing product launches; our sales and marketing strategy and our investments in our sales organization; reimbursement practices; our emerging markets strategy and investments; our initiatives regarding plant certifications and reductions; the ability of our suppliers and sterilizers to meet our requirements; our ability to meet customer demand for our products; the effect of new accounting pronouncements on our financial results; competitive pressures; the impact of healthcare reform legislation and the new medical devise excise tax; the effect of proposed tax laws; the outcome of matters before taxing authorities; our tax position; intellectual property, governmental proceedings and litigation matters; adequacy of our reserves; anticipated expenses and capital expenditures and our ability to finance them; and our ability to meet the financial covenants required by our term loan and revolving credit facility, or to renegotiate the terms of or obtain waivers for compliance with those covenants. If our underlying assumptions turn out to be incorrect, or if certain risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements.
Except as required by law, we do not intend to update any forward-looking statements even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future. The forward-looking statements here and elsewhere in this Annual Report are based on certain

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risks and uncertainties, including the risk factors described in Item 1A of this Annual Report. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements are contained below and elsewhere in this Annual Report, including in Item 1A.
 
CRM Business
 
Our estimates for the U.S. and worldwide CRM markets, as well as our ability to increase CRM net sales and recapture market share;
 
The overall performance of, and referring physician, implanting physician and patient confidence in, our and our competitors' CRM products and technologies, including our next-generation INCEPTA™, ENERGEN™ and PUNCTUA™ defibrillators in additional geographies and our LATITUDE® Patient Management System;
 
The results of CRM clinical trials and market studies undertaken by us, our competitors or other third parties;
 
Our ability to successfully launch next-generation products and technology features worldwide, including our INGENIO™ pacemaker system and our next-generation INCEPTA™, ENERGEN™ and PUNCTUA™ defibrillators in additional geographies;
 
Our ability to grow sales of both new and replacement implant units;
 
Competitive offerings in the CRM market and related declines in average selling prices, as well as the timing of receipt of regulatory approvals to market existing and anticipated CRM products and technologies;
 
Our ability to avoid disruption in the supply of certain components, materials or products; or to quickly secure additional or replacement components, materials or products on a timely basis; and

Our ability to retain and attract key members of our CRM sales force and other key CRM personnel.
 
Coronary Stent Business
 
Volatility in the coronary stent market, our estimates for the worldwide coronary stent market, our ability to increase coronary stent system net sales, competitive offerings and the timing of receipt of regulatory approvals, both in the U.S. and internationally, to market existing and anticipated drug-eluting stent technology and other stent platforms;
 
Our ability to successfully launch next-generation products and technology features, including our PROMUS® Element™ and TAXUS® Element™ stent systems in additional geographies;
 
The results of coronary stent clinical trials undertaken by us, our competitors or other third parties;
 
Our ability to maintain or expand our worldwide market positions through reinvestment in our two drug-eluting stent programs;
 
Our share of the U.S. and worldwide drug-eluting stent markets, the average number of stents used per procedure, average selling prices, and the penetration rate of drug-eluting stent technology in the U.S. and international markets;
 
The overall performance of, and continued physician confidence in, our and other drug-eluting stent systems, including our PROMUS® Element™ stent systems;

Enhanced requirements to obtain regulatory approval in the U.S. and around the world and the associated impact on new product launch schedules and the cost of product approval and compliance; and
 
Our ability to retain and attract key members of our cardiology sales force and other key personnel.
 
Other Businesses
 
The overall performance of, and continued physician confidence in, our products and technologies;
 
Our ability to successfully launch next-generation products and technology features in a timely manner;

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The results of clinical trials undertaken by us, our competitors or other third parties; and
 
Our ability to maintain or expand our worldwide market positions through investments in next-generation technologies.
 
Litigation and Regulatory Compliance
 
Risks generally associated with our regulatory compliance and quality systems in the U.S. and around the world;
 
Our ability to minimize or avoid future field actions or FDA warning letters relating to our products and the on-going inherent risk of potential physician advisories or field actions related to medical devices;
 
Heightened global regulatory enforcement arising from political and regulatory changes as well as economic pressures;
 
The effect of our litigation and risk management practices, including self-insurance, and compliance activities on our loss contingencies, legal provision and cash flows;
 
The impact of, diversion of management attention, and costs to resolve, our stockholder derivative and class action, patent, product liability, contract and other litigation, governmental investigations and legal proceedings;
 
Costs associated with our on-going compliance and quality activities and sustaining organizations;
 
The impact of increased pressure on the availability and rate of third-party reimbursement for our products and procedures worldwide; and
 
Legislative or regulatory efforts to modify the product approval or reimbursement process, including a trend toward demonstrating clinical outcomes, comparative effectiveness and cost efficiency.
 
Innovation
 
Our ability to complete planned clinical trials successfully, to obtain regulatory approvals and to develop and launch products on a timely basis within cost estimates, including the successful completion of in-process projects from purchased research and development;
 
Our ability to manage research and development and other operating expenses consistent with our expected net sales growth;
 
Our ability to develop and launch next-generation products and technologies successfully across all of our businesses;
 
Our ability to fund with cash or common stock acquisitions or alliances, or to fund contingent payments associated with these acquisitions or alliances;
 
Our ability to achieve benefits from our focus on internal research and development and external alliances and acquisitions as well as our ability to capitalize on opportunities across our businesses;
 
Our failure to succeed at, or our decision to discontinue, any of our growth initiatives, as well as competitive interest in the same or similar technologies;
 
Our ability to integrate and realize anticipated benefits of the strategic acquisitions we have consummated or may consummate in the future;
 
Our ability to prioritize our internal research and development project portfolio and our external investment portfolio to identify profitable revenue growth opportunities and keep expenses in line with expected revenue levels, or our decision to sell, discontinue, write down or reduce the funding of any of these projects;
 
The timing, size and nature of strategic initiatives, market opportunities and research and development platforms available to us and the ultimate cost and success of these initiatives; and
 
Our ability to successfully identify, develop and market new products or the ability of others to develop products or

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technologies that render our products or technologies noncompetitive or obsolete.
 
International Markets
 
Our dependency on international net sales to achieve growth;
 
Changes in our international structure and leadership, including our newly created Asia-Pacific regional organization;
 
Risks associated with international operations, including compliance with local legal and regulatory requirements as well as changes in reimbursement practices and policies;
 
Our ability to maintain or expand our worldwide market positions through investments in emerging markets;

Our ability to execute and realize anticipated benefits from our investments in emerging markets, including our plan to build a manufacturing facility in China to serve local market needs;
 
The potential effect of foreign currency fluctuations and interest rate fluctuations on our net sales, expenses and resulting margins; and
 
Risks and uncertainties related to political and economic conditions in international markets, including emerging markets.
 
Liquidity
 
Our ability to generate sufficient cash flow to fund operations, capital expenditures, litigation settlements and strategic investments and acquisitions, as well as to effectively manage our debt levels and covenant compliance;
 
Our ability to access the public and private capital markets when desired and to issue debt or equity securities on terms reasonably acceptable to us;
 
Our ability to resolve open tax matters favorably and realize substantially all of our deferred tax assets and the impact of changes in tax laws; and
 
The impact of examinations and assessments by domestic and international taxing authorities on our tax provision, financial condition or results of operations.

The impact of the European sovereign debt crisis on our ability to collect outstanding and future receivables and/or transfer receivables to third parties.
 
Strategic Initiatives
 
Our ability to implement, fund, and achieve timely and sustainable restructuring, efficiency and cost improvement measures consistent with our expectations, including our 2011 Restructuring plan and Plant Network Optimization program;
 
Our ability to maintain or expand our worldwide market positions in the various markets in which we compete or seek to compete, as we diversify our product portfolio and focus on emerging markets;
 
Risks associated with significant changes made or to be made to our organizational structure, including as a result of the realignment of our international structure, pursuant to our 2011 Restructuring plan and Plant Network Optimization program, or to the membership and responsibilities of our executive committee or Board of Directors;
 
Our ability to direct our research and development efforts to conduct more cost-effective clinical studies, accelerate the time to bring new products to market, and develop products with higher returns, including under Project Transformation;
 
The successful separation of divested businesses, including the performance of related supply, manufacturing and transition services;
 
Our ability to retain and attract key employees and avoid business disruption and employee distraction as we execute our global compliance program, restructuring plans and divestitures of assets or businesses; and

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Our ability to maintain management focus on core business activities while also concentrating on implementing strategic and restructuring initiatives.

Several important factors, in addition to the specific risk factors discussed in connection with forward-looking statements individually and the risk factors described in Item 1A under the heading “Risk Factors,” could cause actual results to vary materially from the expectations and projections expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements and affect our future results and growth rates. These additional factors include, among other things, future political, economic, competitive, reimbursement and regulatory conditions; new product introductions; demographic trends; intellectual property; litigation and government investigations; financial market conditions; and future business decisions made by us and our competitors, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of which are beyond our control. Therefore, we wish to caution each reader of this report to consider carefully these factors as well as the specific factors discussed with each forward-looking statement and risk factor in this report and as disclosed in our filings with the SEC. These factors, in some cases, have affected and in the future (together with other factors) could affect our ability to implement our business strategy and may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements expressed in this Annual Report.


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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
In addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report and the exhibits hereto, the following risk factors should be considered carefully in evaluating our business. Our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. This section contains forward-looking statements. You should refer to the explanation of the qualifications and limitations on forward-looking statements set forth at the end of Item 1 of this Annual Report. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Declines in average selling prices for our products, particularly our drug-eluting coronary stent systems, may materially adversely affect our results of operations.
We have experienced pricing pressures across many of our businesses due to competitive activity, increased market power of our customers as the healthcare industry consolidates, economic pressures experienced by our customers, and the impact of managed care organizations and other third-party payors. Competitive pricing pressures, including aggressive pricing offered by market entrants, have particularly affected our drug-eluting coronary stent system offerings. We estimate that the average selling price of our drug-eluting stent systems in the U.S. decreased seven percent in 2011 as compared to the prior year. Continued declines in average selling prices of our products due to pricing pressures may have an adverse impact on our results of operations.
We derive a significant portion of our net sales from the sale of drug-eluting coronary stent systems and CRM products. Declines in market size, average selling prices, procedural volumes, and our share of the markets in which we compete; increased competition; market perceptions of studies published by third parties; or product launch delays may materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, including potential future write-offs of our goodwill and other intangible assets balances.
Net sales from drug-eluting coronary stent systems represented approximately 20 percent of our consolidated net sales during 2011. In 2011, lower average selling prices driven by competitive and other pricing pressures resulted in a decline in our share of the U.S. drug-eluting stent market, as well as an overall decrease in the size of the market. There can be no assurance that these and other factors will not further impact our share of the U.S. or worldwide drug-eluting stent markets, that we will regain or gain share of the U.S. or worldwide drug-eluting stent markets, or that the size of the U.S. drug-eluting stent market will reach previous levels or will not decline further, all of which could materially adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. In addition, we expect to launch our internally-developed and manufactured next-generation everolimus-eluting stent system, the PROMUS® Element™ platinum chromium coronary stent system, in Japan at or before mid-2012. A delay in the timing of the launch of next-generation products, the overall performance of, and continued physician confidence in, those products may result in a further decline in our market share and have an adverse impact on our results of operations.
Net sales from our CRM group represented approximately 27 percent of our consolidated net sales in 2011. Worldwide CRM market growth rates, including the U.S. ICD market, remain low. Further, physician reaction to study results published by the Journal of the American Medical Association regarding evidence-based guidelines for ICD implants and the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into ICD implants have had, and may continue to have, a negative impact on the size of the CRM market. Our U.S. ICD sales represented approximately 45 percent of our worldwide CRM net sales in 2011, and any changes in this market could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. We have suffered, and may continue to suffer, loss of net sales and market share in the U.S. due to the ship hold and removal of field inventory of all of our ICDs and CRT-Ds offered in the U.S., which we announced on March 15, 2010. There can be no assurance that the size of the CRM market will increase above existing levels or that we will be able to increase CRM market share or increase net sales in a timely manner, if at all. Decreases in market size or our share of the CRM market and decreases in net sales from our CRM products could have a significant impact on our financial condition or results of operations. In addition, our inability to increase our worldwide CRM net sales could result in future goodwill and other intangible asset impairment charges. We expect to launch our next-generation INGENIO family of pacemaker systems in our Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) region and in the U.S. during the first half of 2012. Variability in the timing of the launch of next-generation products may result in excess or expired inventory positions and future inventory charges, or may result in a loss of market share and adversely impact our results of operations.
Consolidation in the healthcare industry could lead to increased demands for price concessions or the exclusion of some suppliers from certain of our significant market segments, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
The cost of healthcare has risen significantly over the past decade and numerous initiatives and reforms by legislators, regulators and third-party payors to curb these costs have resulted in a consolidation trend in the healthcare industry, including hospitals. This consolidation has resulted in greater pricing pressures, decreased average selling prices, and the exclusion of certain suppliers from important market segments as group purchasing organizations, independent delivery networks and large single accounts

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continue to consolidate purchasing decisions for some of our hospital customers. While our strategic initiatives include measures to address these trends, there can be no assurance that these measures will succeed. We expect that market demand, government regulation, third-party reimbursement policies, government contracting requirements, and societal pressures will continue to change the worldwide healthcare industry, resulting in further business consolidations and alliances among our customers and competitors, which may continue to exert further downward pressure on the prices of our products and adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We face intense competition and may not be able to keep pace with the rapid technological changes in the medical devices industry, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
The medical device markets in which we primarily participate are highly competitive. We encounter significant competition across our product lines and in each market in which our products are sold from various medical device companies, some of which may have greater financial and marketing resources than we do. Our primary competitors include Abbott Laboratories; Medtronic, Inc.; St. Jude Medical, Inc.; Johnson & Johnson (including its subsidiary, Cordis Corporation); as well as a wide range of companies that sell a single or a limited number of competitive products or which participate in only a specific market segment. We also face competition from non-medical device companies, including pharmaceutical companies, which may offer alternative therapies for disease states intended to be treated using our products.
Additionally, the medical device markets in which we primarily participate are characterized by extensive research and development, and rapid technological change. Developments by other companies of new or improved products, processes or technologies may make our products or proposed products obsolete or less competitive and may negatively impact our net sales. We are required to devote continued efforts and financial resources to develop or acquire scientifically advanced technologies and products, apply our technologies cost-effectively across product lines and markets, obtain patent and other protection for our technologies and products, obtain required regulatory and reimbursement approvals and successfully manufacture and market our products consistent with our quality standards. If we fail to develop new products or enhance existing products, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Because we derive a significant amount of our net sales from international operations and a significant percentage of our future growth is expected to come from international operations, including from emerging markets, changes in international economic or regulatory conditions could have a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Sales outside the U.S. accounted for approximately 50 percent of our net sales in 2011. Additionally, a significant percentage of our future growth is expected to come from international operations, including from our increased sales presence and other investments in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and India. We have recently realigned our international structure, including the creation of a new Asia-Pacific regional organization, and are devoting resources to focus on increasing net sales in emerging markets. However, sales practices in certain international markets may be inconsistent with our desired business practices and U.S. legal requirements, which may impact our ability to expand as planned. In addition, we continue to invest in infrastructure in Brazil, China and India, including a $150 million investment in China over a five year period through which we expect to build a local manufacturing facility focused on serving Chinese market needs, develop a world class training center for healthcare providers and invest in local research and development and clinical studies. However, risks and uncertainties related to political and economic conditions in these regions, traditional business practices, foreign currency fluctuations, interest rate fluctuations, regulatory and reimbursement approvals, competitive offerings, infrastructure development complications and intellectual property protection may adversely impact our ability to implement our business strategy in these markets and, as a result, our sales growth and operating profits from our international operations may be adversely affected.
Further, international markets are increasingly being affected by economic pressure to contain reimbursement levels and healthcare costs; and certain international markets may also be impacted by foreign government efforts to understand healthcare practices and pricing in other countries, which could result in increased pricing transparency across geographies and pressure to harmonize reimbursement and ultimately reduce the selling prices of our products. Further, certain foreign governments allow favorable reimbursements for locally-manufactured products, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage and negatively affect our market share, including in China if we are unable to executive our business strategy in that market or do so in a timely manner.
Most international jurisdictions have regulatory approval and periodic renewal requirements for medical devices, and several countries that previously did not have regulatory requirements for medical devices have adopted such requirements; we must comply with these requirements in order to market our products in these jurisdictions. In addition, the trend in countries around the world, including Japan, toward more stringent regulatory requirements for product clearance, changing reimbursement models and more rigorous inspection and enforcement activities has generally caused or may cause us and other medical device manufacturers to experience more uncertainty, delay, risk and expense. We expect the international regulatory environment will continue to evolve, which could impact our ability to obtain approvals for our products in those jurisdictions, which may have a material impact on our business.

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Further, any significant changes in the competitive, political, legal, regulatory, reimbursement or economic environment where we conduct international operations may have a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
If we are unable to manage our debt levels, maintain investment grade credit ratings at the three ratings agencies, or experience a disruption in our cash flows it could have an adverse effect on our cost of borrowing, financial condition or results of operations.
As part of our strategy to increase operational leverage and continue to strengthen our financial flexibility, we reduced our total debt to $4.261 billion as of December 31, 2011 from our total debt of $5.438 billion as of December 31, 2010, which debt was in large part attributable to our 2006 acquisition of Guidant Corporation. In 2011, Standard & Poor's continued our credit rating as investment grade with a stable outlook, Fitch Ratings upgraded our corporate credit rating to investment grade at BBB- with a stable outlook; and in February 2012, Moody's Investors Service upgraded our corporate credit rating to investment grade at Baa3 with a stable outlook. We believe these rating improvements reflect the strength of our product portfolio and cash flows, the reduction of our debt, and our improved financial fundamentals. Our inability to maintain investment grade credit ratings at the three ratings agencies could increase our cost of borrowing funds in the future. Delays in our product development and new product launches, disruption in our cash flow or our ability to continue to effectively manage our debt levels could have an adverse effect on our cost of borrowing, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, our term loan and revolving credit facility agreement contains financial covenants that require us to maintain specified financial ratios. If we are unable to satisfy these covenants, we may be required to obtain waivers from our lenders and no assurance can be made that our lenders would grant such waivers on favorable terms or at all, and we could be required to repay any borrowings under this facility on demand.
We may record future goodwill impairment charges related to one or more of our business units, which could materially adversely impact our results of operations.
We test our April 1 goodwill balances for impairment during the second quarter of each year, or more frequently if indicators are present or changes in circumstances suggest that impairment may exist. We assess goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level and, in evaluating the potential for impairment of goodwill, we make assumptions regarding estimated revenue projections, growth rates, cash flows and discount rates. Based on market information that became available to us toward the end of the first quarter of 2011, we concluded that there was a reduction in the estimated size of the U.S. Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) market, which led to lower projected U.S. CRM results compared to prior forecasts and created an indication of potential impairment of the goodwill balance attributable to our U.S. CRM business unit. Therefore, we performed an interim impairment test in accordance with U.S. GAAP and our accounting policies and recorded a non-deductible goodwill impairment charge of $697 million, on both a pre-tax and after-tax basis, associated with this business unit during the first quarter of 2011. We continue to identify four reporting units with a material amount of goodwill that are at higher risk of potential failure of the first step of the impairment test in future reporting periods. These reporting units include our U.S. CRM reporting unit, our U.S. Cardiovascular reporting unit, our U.S. Neuromodulation reporting unit, and our Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) region, which together hold approximately $8 billion of allocated goodwill. On a quarterly basis, we monitor the key drivers of fair value for these reporting units to detect events or other changes that would warrant an interim impairment test. For each of these reporting units, relatively small declines in the future performance and cash flows of the reporting unit relative to our expectations or small changes in other key assumptions may result in the recognition of future goodwill impairment charges, which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations.
Failure to integrate acquired businesses into our operations successfully could adversely affect our business.
As part of our strategy to realign our business portfolio, we completed several acquisitions in 2010 and 2011 in our priority growth areas and may pursue additional acquisitions in the future. Our integration of the operations of acquired businesses requires significant efforts, including the coordination of information technologies, research and development, sales and marketing, operations, manufacturing and finance. These efforts result in additional expenses and involve significant amounts of management's time. Factors that will affect the success of our acquisitions include the strength of the acquired companies' underlying technology and ability to execute, results of clinical trials, regulatory approvals and reimbursement levels of the acquired products and related procedures, our ability to adequately fund acquired in-process research and development projects and retain key employees, and our ability to achieve synergies with our acquired companies, such as increasing sales of our products, achieving cost savings and effectively combining technologies to develop new products. Our failure to manage successfully and coordinate the growth of the combined acquired companies could have an adverse impact on our business and our future growth. In addition, we cannot be certain that the businesses we acquire will become profitable or remain so and if our acquisitions are not successful, we may record related asset impairment charges in the future.
We may not be successful in our strategy relating to future strategic acquisitions of, investments in, or alliances with, other companies and businesses, which have been a significant source of historical growth for us, and will be key to our diversification into new markets and technologies.

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Our strategic acquisitions, investments and alliances are intended to further expand our ability to offer customers effective, high quality medical devices that satisfy their interventional needs. If we are unsuccessful in our acquisitions, investments and alliances, we may be unable to grow our business. These acquisitions, investments and alliances have been a significant source of our growth. The success of our strategy relating to future acquisitions, investments or alliances will depend on a number of factors, including:

our ability to identify suitable opportunities for acquisition, investment or alliance, if at all;

our ability to finance any future acquisition, investment or alliance on terms acceptable to us, if at all;

whether we are able to establish an acquisition, investment or alliance on terms that are satisfactory to us, if at all; and

intellectual property and litigation related to these technologies.
 
Any potential future acquisitions we consummate may be dilutive to our earnings and may require additional debt or equity financing, depending on size or nature.
We may not realize the expected benefits from our restructuring and Plant Network Optimization initiatives; our long-term expense reduction programs may result in an increase in short-term expense; and our efforts may lead to additional unintended consequences.

In July 2011, we announced a 2011 Restructuring plan designed to strengthen operational effectiveness and efficiencies, increase competitiveness and support new investments, thereby increasing shareholder value. Key activities under the plan include standardizing and automating certain processes and activities; relocating select administrative and functional activities; rationalizing organizational reporting structures; leveraging preferred vendors; and taking other actions aimed at increasing overall productivity. Further, in February 2010, we announced a 2010 Restructuring plan designed to strengthen and position us for long-term success. Key activities under the plan, the majority of which are complete, included the integration of our Cardiovascular and CRM businesses, as well as the restructuring of certain other businesses and corporate functions; the realignment of our international structure; and the reprioritization and diversification of our product portfolio. Additionally, in January 2009, we announced our Plant Network Optimization program, aimed at simplifying our plant network, reducing our manufacturing costs and improving gross margins. Cost reduction initiatives under these collective plans include various cost and efficiency improvement measures, which may include head count reductions; the relocation of certain resources as well as administrative and functional activities; the closure of certain facilities; the transfer of certain production lines; the sale of certain non-strategic assets and other efforts to streamline our business, among other actions. These measures could yield unintended consequences, such as distraction of our management and employees, business disruption, attrition beyond our planned reduction in workforce and reduced employee productivity. We may be unable to attract or retain key personnel. Attrition beyond our planned reduction in workforce or a material decrease in employee morale or productivity could negatively affect our business, sales, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, head count reductions may subject us to the risk of litigation, which could result in substantial cost. Moreover, our expense reduction programs result in charges and expenses that impact our operating results. We cannot guarantee that these measures, or other expense reduction measures we take in the future, will result in the expected cost savings.
Our inability to effectively manage the separation activities and events with respect to the divestiture of our Neurovascular business could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
As part of our strategy to realign our business portfolio, in January 2011, we closed the sale of our Neurovascular business to Stryker Corporation. The divestiture of this business may involve a number of risks, including the diversion of management and employee attention and significant costs and expenses, particularly unexpected costs and delays occurring during the period of separation, including with respect to the transfer of certain manufacturing facilities, which we now expect to occur during 2013. In addition, we will provide post-closing services through a transition services agreement, and will also supply products to Stryker. These transition services and supply agreements are expected to be effective through the end of 2012, subject to extension, and could involve the expenditure of significant employee resources, among other resources, and under which we will be reliant on third parties for the provision of services. Our inability to effectively manage the separation activities and events could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Current domestic and international economic conditions could adversely affect our results of operations.
The continued global financial crisis, including the European sovereign debt crisis, caused extreme disruption in the financial markets, including severely diminished liquidity and credit availability. There can be no assurance that there will not be further deterioration in the global economy. Our customers may experience financial difficulties or be unable to borrow money to fund

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their operations which may adversely impact their ability or decision to purchase our products, particularly capital equipment, or to pay for our products they do purchase on a timely basis, if at all. For example, our net sales have been adversely impacted by reductions in procedural volumes due to unemployment levels and other economic factors, and these reductions may continue. Further, we have experienced significant delays in the collectability of receivables in Southern European countries and there can be no assurance that these payments will ultimately be collected. Additionally, the European sovereign debt crisis may impact our future ability to transfer receivables to third parties in certain Southern European countries as those third parties look to reduce their exposure to sovereign debt, which could result in terminations of, or changes to the costs or credit limits of our existing factoring programs which in turn could have a negative impact on our cash flow. Conditions in the financial markets and other factors beyond our control may also adversely affect our ability to borrow money in the credit markets and to obtain financing for acquisitions or other general corporate and commercial purposes. The strength and timing of any economic recovery remains uncertain, and we cannot predict to what extent the global economic slowdown and European sovereign debt crisis may negatively impact our average selling prices, our net sales and profit margins, procedural volumes and reimbursement rates from third party payors. In addition, current economic conditions may adversely affect our suppliers, leading them to experience financial difficulties or to be unable to borrow money to fund their operations, which could cause disruptions in our ability to produce our products.
Healthcare policy changes, including recently passed healthcare reform legislation, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Political, economic and regulatory influences are subjecting the healthcare industry to potential fundamental changes that could substantially affect our results of operations. Government and private sector initiatives to limit the growth of healthcare costs, including price regulation, competitive pricing, coverage and payment policies, comparative effectiveness of therapies, technology assessments and managed-care arrangements, are continuing in many countries where we do business, including the U.S. These changes are causing the marketplace to put increased emphasis on the delivery of more cost-effective treatments. Our strategic initiatives include measures to address this trend; however, there can be no assurance that any of our strategic measures will successfully address this trend.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 were enacted into law in the U.S. in March 2010. As a U.S. headquartered company with significant sales in the U.S., this healthcare reform legislation will materially impact us. Certain provisions of the legislation will not be effective for a number of years, there are many programs and requirements for which the details have not yet been fully established or consequences not fully understood, and it is unclear what the full impact of the legislation will be. The legislation imposes on medical device manufacturers a 2.3 percent excise tax on U.S. sales of Class I, II and III medical devices beginning in 2013. U.S. net sales represented 53 percent of our worldwide net sales in 2011 and, therefore, this tax burden may have a material, negative impact on our results of operations and our cash flows. Other provisions of this legislation, including Medicare provisions aimed at improving quality and decreasing costs, comparative effectiveness research, an independent payment advisory board, and pilot programs to evaluate alternative payment methodologies, could meaningfully change the way healthcare is developed and delivered, and may adversely affect our business and results of operations. Further, we cannot predict what healthcare programs and regulations will be ultimately implemented at the federal or state level, or the effect of any future legislation or regulation in the U.S. or internationally. However, any changes that lower reimbursements for our products or reduce medical procedure volumes could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Healthcare cost containment pressures and legislative or administrative reforms resulting in restrictive reimbursement practices of third-party payors or preferences for alternate therapies could decrease the demand for our products, the prices which customers are willing to pay for those products and the number of procedures performed using our devices, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our products are purchased principally by hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers around the world that typically bill various third-party payors, including governmental programs (e.g., Medicare and Medicaid), private insurance plans and managed care programs, for the healthcare services provided to their patients. The ability of customers to obtain appropriate reimbursement for their products and services from private and governmental third-party payors is critical to the success of medical technology companies. The availability of reimbursement affects which products customers purchase and the prices they are willing to pay. Reimbursement varies from country to country and can significantly impact the acceptance of new products and services. After we develop a promising new product, we may find limited demand for the product unless reimbursement approval is obtained from private and governmental third-party payors. Further legislative or administrative reforms to the reimbursement systems in the U.S., Japan, or other international countries in a manner that significantly reduces reimbursement for procedures using our medical devices or denies coverage for those procedures, including price regulation, competitive pricing, coverage and payment policies, comparative effectiveness of therapies, technology assessments and managed-care arrangements, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Major third-party payors for hospital services in the U.S. and abroad continue to work to contain healthcare costs. The introduction

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of cost containment incentives, combined with closer scrutiny of healthcare expenditures by both private health insurers and employers, has resulted in increased discounts and contractual adjustments to hospital charges for services performed, has lead to increased physician employment by hospitals in the U.S., and has shifted services between inpatient and outpatient settings. Initiatives to limit the increase of healthcare costs, including price regulation, are also underway in several countries in which we do business. Hospitals or physicians may respond to these cost-containment pressures by substituting lower cost products or other therapies for our products.
We are subject to extensive and dynamic medical device regulation, which may impede or hinder the approval or sale of our products and, in some cases, may ultimately result in an inability to obtain approval of certain products or may result in the recall or seizure of previously approved products.
Our products, marketing, sales and development activities and manufacturing processes are subject to extensive and rigorous regulation by the FDA pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDC Act), by comparable agencies in foreign countries, and by other regulatory agencies and governing bodies. Under the FDC Act, medical devices must receive FDA clearance or approval before they can be commercially marketed in the U.S. The FDA has recently been reviewing its clearance process in an effort to make it more rigorous, and there have been a number of recommendations made by various task forces and working groups to change the 510(k) Submission program. Some of these proposals, if enacted, could increase the level and complexity of premarket data requirements for certain higher-risk Class II products. Others could increase the cost of maintaining the legal status of Class II devices entered into the market via 510(k) Submissions. We have a portfolio of products that includes numerous Class II medical devices. If implemented as currently proposed, the changes to the 510(k) Submission program could substantially increase the cost, complexity and time to market for certain higher-risk Class II medical devices. In addition, most major markets for medical devices outside the U.S. require clearance, approval or compliance with certain standards before a product can be commercially marketed. The process of obtaining marketing approval or clearance from the FDA for new products, or with respect to enhancements or modifications to existing products, could:

take a significant period of time;

require the expenditure of substantial resources;

involve rigorous pre-clinical and clinical testing, as well as increased post-market surveillance;

require changes to products; and

result in limitations on the indicated uses of products.
 
Countries around the world have adopted more stringent regulatory requirements than in the past, which have added or are expected to add to the delays and uncertainties associated with new product releases, as well as the clinical and regulatory costs of supporting those releases. Even after products have received marketing approval or clearance, product approvals and clearances by the FDA can be withdrawn due to failure to comply with regulatory standards or the occurrence of unforeseen problems following initial approval. There can be no assurance that we will receive the required clearances for new products or modifications to existing products on a timely basis or that any approval will not be subsequently withdrawn or conditioned upon extensive post-market study requirements.
In addition, regulations regarding the development, manufacture and sale of medical devices are subject to future change. We cannot predict what impact, if any, those changes might have on our business. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product or manufacturer could result in fines, delays or suspensions of regulatory clearances, seizures or recalls of products, physician advisories or other field actions, operating restrictions and/or criminal prosecution. We may also initiate field actions as a result of a failure to strictly comply with our internal quality policies. The failure to receive product approval clearance on a timely basis, suspensions of regulatory clearances, seizures or recalls of products, physician advisories or other field actions, or the withdrawal of product approval by the FDA could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our products, including those of our cardiovascular businesses, are continually subject to clinical trials conducted by us, our competitors or other third parties, the results of which may be unfavorable, or perceived as unfavorable by the market, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
As a part of the regulatory process of obtaining marketing clearance for new products, we conduct and participate in numerous clinical trials with a variety of study designs, patient populations and trial endpoints. Unfavorable or inconsistent clinical data

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from existing or future clinical trials conducted by us, by our competitors or by third parties, or the market's perception of this clinical data, may adversely impact our ability to obtain product approvals, our position in, and share of, the markets in which we participate and our business, financial condition, results of operations or future prospects.
Our future growth is dependent upon the development of new products, which requires significant research and development, clinical trials and regulatory approvals, all of which are very expensive and time-consuming and may not result in commercially viable products.
In order to develop new products and improve current product offerings, we focus our research and development programs largely on the development of next-generation and novel technology offerings across multiple programs and businesses. We expect to launch our internally-manufactured next-generation everolimus-eluting stent system, the PROMUS® Element™ platinum chromium coronary stent, in Japan at or before mid-2012, subject to regulatory approval. In addition, we expect to continue to invest in our CRM technologies. If we are unable to develop and launch these and other products as anticipated, our ability to maintain or expand our market position in the drug-eluting stent and CRM markets may be materially adversely impacted. Further, we are continuing to investigate, and have completed several acquisitions involving, opportunities to further expand our presence in, and diversify into priority growth areas. Expanding our focus beyond our current businesses is expensive and time-consuming. Further, there can be no assurance that we will be able to access these technologies on terms favorable to us, or that these technologies will achieve commercial feasibility, obtain regulatory approval or gain market acceptance. A delay in the development or approval of these technologies or our decision to reduce our investments may adversely impact the contribution of these technologies to our future growth.
The medical device industry is experiencing greater scrutiny and regulation by governmental authorities and is the subject of numerous investigations, often involving marketing and other business practices. These investigations could result in the commencement of civil and criminal proceedings; substantial fines, penalties and administrative remedies; divert the attention of our management; impose administrative costs and have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity; and may lead to greater governmental regulation in the future.
The medical devices we design, develop, manufacture and market are subject to rigorous regulation by the FDA and numerous other federal, state and foreign governmental authorities. These authorities have been increasing their scrutiny of our industry. We have received subpoenas and other requests for information from Congress and other state and federal governmental agencies, including, among others, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Defense. These investigations relate primarily to financial arrangements with healthcare providers, regulatory compliance and product promotional practices. We are cooperating with these investigations and are responding to these requests. We cannot predict when the investigations will be resolved, the outcome of these investigations or their impact on us. An adverse outcome in one or more of these investigations could include the commencement of civil and criminal proceedings; substantial fines, penalties and administrative remedies, including exclusion from government reimbursement programs, entry into Corporate Integrity Agreements (CIAs) with governmental agencies and amendments to existing CIAs. In addition, resolution of any of these matters could involve the imposition of additional and costly compliance obligations. For example, in 2009, we entered into a civil settlement with the DOJ regarding the DOJ's investigation relating to certain post-market surveys conducted by Guidant Corporation before we acquired Guidant in 2006. As part of the settlement, we entered into a CIA with the Office of Inspector General for HHS. The CIA requires enhancements to certain compliance procedures related to financial arrangements with healthcare providers. The obligations imposed upon us by the CIA and cooperation with ongoing investigations will involve employee resources costs and diversion of employee focus. Cooperation typically also involves document production costs. We may incur greater future costs to fulfill the obligations imposed upon us by the CIA. Further, the CIA, and if any of the ongoing investigations continue over a long period of time, could further divert the attention of management from the day-to-day operations of our business and impose significant additional administrative burdens on us. These potential consequences, as well as any adverse outcome from these investigations, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.
In addition, certain state governments (including that of Massachusetts, where we are headquartered) have enacted, and the federal government has proposed, legislation aimed at increasing transparency of our interactions with healthcare professionals (HCPs). As a result, we are required by law to disclose payments and other transfers for value to HCPs licensed by certain states and expect similar requirements at the federal level in the future. Any failure to comply with the enhanced legal and regulatory requirements could impact our business. In addition, we devoted substantial additional time and financial resources to further develop and implement enhanced structure, policies, systems and processes to comply with enhanced legal and regulatory requirements, which may also impact our business.
Further, recent Supreme Court case law has clarified that the FDA's authority over medical devices preempts state tort laws, but legislation has been introduced at the Federal level to allow state intervention, which could lead to increased and inconsistent regulation at the state level. We anticipate that the government will continue to scrutinize our industry closely and that we will be

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subject to more rigorous regulation by governmental authorities in the future.
Changes in tax laws, unfavorable resolution of tax contingencies, or exposure to additional income tax liabilities could have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations and/or liquidity.
We are subject to income taxes as well as non-income based taxes, in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions. We are subject to on-going tax audits in various jurisdictions. Tax authorities may disagree with certain positions we have taken and assess additional taxes. We regularly assess the likely outcomes of these audits in order to determine the appropriateness of our tax provision and have established contingency reserves for material, known tax exposures, including potential tax audit adjustments related to transfer pricing methodology disputes. We have received Notices of Deficiency from the IRS reflecting proposed audit adjustments for Guidant Corporation for the 2001-April 2006 tax years and Boston Scientific Corporation for the 2006-2007 tax years. We have petitioned the Tax Court contesting these adjustments. There can be no assurance that we will accurately predict the outcomes of these disputes or other tax audits or that issues raised by tax authorities will be resolved at a financial cost that does not exceed our related reserves, and the actual outcomes of these audits could have a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition. Additionally, changes in tax laws or tax rulings could materially impact our effective tax rate. For example, proposals for fundamental U.S. corporate tax reform, if enacted, could have a significant adverse impact on our future results of operations.
We may not effectively be able to protect our intellectual property rights, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
The medical device market in which we primarily participate is largely technology driven. Physician customers, particularly in interventional cardiology, have historically moved quickly to new products and new technologies. As a result, intellectual property rights, particularly patents and trade secrets, play a significant role in product development and differentiation. However, intellectual property litigation is inherently complex and unpredictable. Furthermore, appellate courts can overturn lower court patent decisions.
In addition, competing parties frequently file multiple suits to leverage patent portfolios across product lines, technologies and geographies and to balance risk and exposure between the parties. In some cases, several competitors are parties in the same proceeding, or in a series of related proceedings, or litigate multiple features of a single class of devices. These forces frequently drive settlement not only of individual cases, but also of a series of pending and potentially related and unrelated cases. In addition, although monetary and injunctive relief is typically sought, remedies and restitution are generally not determined until the conclusion of the trial court proceedings and can be modified on appeal. Accordingly, the outcomes of individual cases are difficult to time, predict or quantify and are often dependent upon the outcomes of other cases in other geographies.
Several third parties have asserted that our current and former product offerings infringe patents owned or licensed by them. We have similarly asserted that products sold by our competitors infringe patents owned or licensed by us. Adverse outcomes in one or more of the proceedings against us could limit our ability to sell certain products in certain jurisdictions, or reduce our operating margin on the sale of these products and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.
Patents and other proprietary rights are and will continue to be essential to our business, and our ability to compete effectively with other companies will be dependent upon the proprietary nature of our technologies. We rely upon trade secrets, know-how, continuing technological innovations, strategic alliances and licensing opportunities to develop, maintain and strengthen our competitive position. We pursue a policy of generally obtaining patent protection in both the U.S. and abroad for patentable subject matter in our proprietary devices and attempt to review third-party patents and patent applications to the extent publicly available in order to develop an effective patent strategy, avoid infringement of third-party patents, identify licensing opportunities and monitor the patent claims of others. We currently own numerous U.S. and foreign patents and have numerous patent applications pending. We also are party to various license agreements pursuant to which patent rights have been obtained or granted in consideration for cash, cross-licensing rights or royalty payments. No assurance can be made that any pending or future patent applications will result in the issuance of patents, that any current or future patents issued to, or licensed by, us will not be challenged or circumvented by our competitors, or that our patents will not be found invalid. In addition, we may have to take legal action in the future to protect our patents, trade secrets or know-how or to assert them against claimed infringement by others. Any legal action of that type could be costly and time consuming and no assurances can be made that any lawsuit will be successful. We are generally involved as both a plaintiff and a defendant in a number of patent infringement and other intellectual property-related actions.
The invalidation of key patents or proprietary rights that we own, or an unsuccessful outcome in lawsuits to protect our intellectual property, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
In addition, the laws of certain countries in which we market, and plan on manufacturing in the near future, some of our products

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do not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property in these countries, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Pending and future intellectual property litigation could be costly and disruptive to us.
We operate in an industry that is susceptible to significant intellectual property litigation and, in recent years, it has been common for companies in the medical device field to aggressively challenge the patent rights of other companies in order to prevent the marketing of new devices. We are currently the subject of various patent litigation proceedings and other proceedings described in more detail under Item 3. Legal Proceedings and Note K- Commitments and Contingencies to our 2011 consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report. Intellectual property litigation is expensive, complex and lengthy and its outcome is difficult to predict. Adverse outcomes in one or more of these matters could have a material adverse effect on our ability to sell certain products and on our operating margins, financial condition, results of operation or liquidity. Pending or future patent litigation may result in significant royalty or other payments or injunctions that can prevent the sale of products and may significantly divert the attention of our technical and management personnel. In the event that our right to market any of our products is successfully challenged, we may be required to obtain a license on terms which may not be favorable to us, if at all. If we fail to obtain a required license or are unable to design around a patent, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Pending and future product liability claims and other litigation, including private securities litigation, shareholder derivative suits and contract litigation, may adversely affect our business, reputation and ability to attract and retain customers.
The design, manufacture and marketing of medical devices of the types that we produce entail an inherent risk of product liability claims. Many of the medical devices that we manufacture and sell are designed to be implanted in the human body for long periods of time or indefinitely. A number of factors could result in an unsafe condition or injury to, or death of, a patient with respect to these or other products that we manufacture or sell, including physician technique and experience in performing the surgical procedure, component failures, manufacturing flaws, design defects or inadequate disclosure of product-related risks or product-related information. These factors could result in product liability claims, a recall of one or more of our products or a safety alert relating to one or more of our products.
Product liability claims may be brought by individuals or by groups seeking to represent a class. We are currently the subject of product liability litigation proceedings and other proceedings described in more detail under Item 3. Legal Proceedings and Note K- Commitments and Contingencies to our 2011 consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report. The outcome of litigation, particularly class action lawsuits, is difficult to assess or quantify. Plaintiffs in these types of lawsuits often seek recovery of very large or indeterminate amounts, including not only actual damages, but also punitive damages. The magnitude of the potential losses relating to these lawsuits may remain unknown for substantial periods of time. In addition, the cost to defend against any future litigation may be significant. Further, we are substantially self-insured with respect to product liability and intellectual property infringement claims. We maintain insurance policies providing limited coverage against securities claims. The absence of significant third-party insurance coverage increases our potential exposure to unanticipated claims and adverse decisions. Product liability claims, securities and commercial litigation and other litigation in the future, regardless of the outcome, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.
Any failure to meet regulatory quality standards applicable to our manufacturing and quality processes could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
As a medical device manufacturer, we are required to register with the FDA and are subject to periodic inspection by the FDA for compliance with its Quality System Regulation requirements, which require manufacturers of medical devices to adhere to certain regulations, including testing, quality control and documentation procedures. In addition, the Federal Medical Device Reporting regulations require us to provide information to the FDA whenever there is evidence that reasonably suggests that a device may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury or, if a malfunction were to occur, could cause or contribute to a death or serious injury. Compliance with applicable regulatory requirements is subject to continual review and is monitored rigorously through periodic inspections by the FDA which may result in observations on Form 483, and in some cases warning letters, that require corrective action. In the European Community, we are required to maintain certain International Standards Organization (ISO) certifications in order to sell our products and must undergo periodic inspections by notified bodies to obtain and maintain these certifications. If we, or our manufacturers, fail to adhere to quality system regulations or ISO requirements, this could delay production of our products and lead to fines, difficulties in obtaining regulatory clearances, recalls, enforcement actions, including injunctive relief or consent decrees, or other consequences, which could, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Interruption of our manufacturing operations could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

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Our products are designed and manufactured in technology centers around the world, either by us or third parties. In most cases, the manufacturing of our products is concentrated in one or a few locations. Factors such as a failure to follow specific internal protocols and procedures, equipment malfunction, environmental factors or damage to one or more of our facilities could adversely affect our ability to manufacture our products. In the event of an interruption in manufacturing, we may be unable to quickly move to alternate means of producing affected products or to meet customer demand. In some instances, for example, if the interruption is a result of a failure to follow regulatory protocols and procedures, we may experience delays in resuming production of affected products due primarily to needs for regulatory approvals. As a result, we may suffer loss of market share, which we may be unable to recapture, and harm to our reputation, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
We rely on external manufacturers to supply us with certain materials, components and products. Any disruption in our sources of supply or the price of inventory supplied to us could adversely impact our production efforts and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We purchase many of the materials and components used in manufacturing our products, some of which are custom made from third-party vendors. Certain supplies are purchased from single-sources due to quality considerations, expertise, costs or constraints resulting from regulatory requirements. In the event of a disruption in supply, we may not be able to establish additional or replacement suppliers for certain components, materials or products in a timely manner largely due to the complex nature of our and many of our suppliers' manufacturing processes. In addition, our products require sterilization prior to sale and we rely on a mix of internal resources and third-party vendors to perform this service. Production issues, including capacity constraint; the inability to sterilize our products; quality issues affecting us or our suppliers; an inability to develop and validate alternative sources if required; or a significant increase in the price of materials or components could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Our share price will fluctuate, and accordingly, the value of an investment in our common stock may also fluctuate.
Stock markets in general, and our common stock in particular, have experienced significant price and volume volatility over recent years. The market price and trading volume of our common stock may continue to be subject to significant fluctuations due not only to general stock market conditions, but also to variability in the prevailing sentiment regarding our operations or business prospects, as well as, among other things, changing investment priorities of our shareholders.
 
If we are unable to attract, retain and focus key personnel, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results from operations.
 
We constantly monitor the dynamics of the economy, the healthcare industry and the markets in which we compete; and we continue to assess opportunities to improve operational effectiveness and better align expenses with revenues, while preserving our ability to make needed investments in our priority growth initiatives, research and development projects, capital and our people that we believe are essential to our long-term success. In our industry, there is substantial competition for key personnel in the regions in which we operate and we may face increased competition for such employees, particularly in emerging markets as the trend toward globalization continues. If we are unable to attract key personnel in a timely manner, including key sales and other personnel who have critical industry experience and relationships in the regions in which we operate, including in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and India, it may have an adverse effect on our business and our ability to drive growth, including through execution of our strategic initiatives. Furthermore, some of the key personnel for whom we compete have post-employment arrangements with their current or former employer that may impact our ability to hire them or expose us and them to claims. In addition, if we are unable to retain and focus our existing key personnel it may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results from operations. Moreover, we recently completed a number of changes in our senior management structure, which may lead to inefficiencies and have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.



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ITEM 1B.     UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2.     PROPERTIES
Our world headquarters are located in Natick, Massachusetts, with additional support provided from regional headquarters located in Tokyo, Japan and Paris, France. As of December 31, 2011, our principal manufacturing and technology centers were located in Minnesota, California, and Indiana within the U.S; as well as internationally in Ireland, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. Our products are distributed worldwide from customer fulfillment centers in Massachusetts, The Netherlands and Japan. As of December 31, 2011, we maintained 13 manufacturing facilities, including seven in the U.S., three in Ireland, two in Costa Rica, and one in Puerto Rico, as well as various distribution and technology centers around the world. Many of these facilities produce and manufacture products for more than one of our divisions and include research facilities. The following is a summary of our facilities as of December 31, 2011 (in approximate square feet):
 
 
Owned
 
Leased
 
Total
U.S.
 
5,499,000

 
1,326,000

 
6,825,000

International
 
1,513,000

 
1,043,000

 
2,556,000

 
 
7,012,000

 
2,369,000

 
9,381,000


In connection with our Plant Network Optimization program, described in Items 7 and 8 of this Annual Report, we intend to close one of our manufacturing plants in the U.S. during 2012, representing a total of approximately 350,000 owned square feet. We regularly evaluate the condition and capacity of our facilities to ensure they are suitable for the development, manufacturing, and marketing of our products, and provide adequate capacity for current and expected future needs.


ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
See Note K – Commitments and Contingencies to our 2011 consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report and incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 4.     MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

None.



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PART II

ITEM 5.     MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “BSX.” The following table provides the market range for the closing price of our common stock for each of the last eight quarters based on reported sales prices on the NYSE.
2011
 
High
 
Low
First Quarter
 
$
7.78

 
$
6.85

Second Quarter
 
7.79

 
6.57

Third Quarter
 
7.28

 
5.62

Fourth Quarter
 
5.90

 
5.09

 
 
 
 
 
2010
 
 
 
 
First Quarter
 
$
9.62

 
$
6.80

Second Quarter
 
7.35

 
5.44

Third Quarter
 
6.59

 
5.13

Fourth Quarter
 
7.85

 
5.97

Holders
The closing price of our common stock on February 9, 2012 was $5.95. As of February 9, 2012, there were 16,830 holders of record of our common stock.
Dividends
We did not pay a cash dividend in 2011 or 2010. We currently do not intend to pay dividends, and intend to retain all of our earnings to invest in the continued growth of our business and return value to shareholders by buying back shares of our common stock pursuant to our share repurchase authorizations. We may consider declaring and paying a dividend in the future; however, there can be no assurance that we will do so.
Please see Item 12 "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters" under Part III of this Annual Report for information on where to find information required by Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchases
During 2011, we used $492 million of cash generated from operations to repurchase approximately 82 million shares of our common stock pursuant to our share repurchase authorizations discussed in Note L - Stockholders' Equity to our 2011 consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report. We did not repurchase any of our common stock in 2010.

The following table provides information with respect to purchases by Boston Scientific Corporation of equity securities that are registered by us pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the fourth quarter of 2011:

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Period
Total Number of Shares Purchased
Average Price Paid per Share
Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs *
Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs *
10/01/11 - 10/31/11
19,528,384

$
5.72

19,528,384

 
11/01/11 - 11/30/11
32,422,332

$
5.78

32,422,332

 
12/01/11 - 12/31/11
 
 
 
 
      Total
51,950,716

$
5.76

51,950,716

$
705,673,865

 
 
 
 
 
* On July 28, 2011, we announced that our Board of Directors had approved a new program authorizing the repurchase of up to $1.0 billion of our common stock and re-approved approximately 37 million shares remaining under an existing share repurchase program. The approximate aggregate dollar value of the shares that may yet be purchased under the plans and programs, in the table above, was calculated using a stock price of $5.34 for the 37 million shares authorized under the existing repurchase program, which was the closing price of our common stock on December 31, 2011, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.




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Stock Performance Graph
The graph below compares the five-year total return to stockholders on our common stock with the return of the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Stock Index and the S&P Health Care Equipment Index. The graph assumes $100 was invested in our common stock and in each of the named indices on December 31, 2006, and that all dividends were reinvested.

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ITEM 6.     SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
FIVE-YEAR SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
(in millions, except per share data)
Operating Data
Year Ended December 31,
 
2011
 
2010
 
2009
 
2008
 
2007
Net sales
 
$
7,622

 
$
7,806

 
$
8,188

 
$
8,050

 
$
8,357

Gross profit
 
4,963

 
5,207

 
5,612

 
5,581

 
6,015

Total operating expenses
 
4,059

 
5,863

 
6,506

 
7,086

 
6,029

Operating income (loss)
 
904

 
(656
)
 
(894
)
 
(1,505
)
 
(14
)
Income (loss) before income taxes
 
642

 
(1,063
)
 
(1,308
)
 
(2,031
)
 
(569
)
Net income (loss)
 
441

 
(1,065
)
 
(1,025
)
 
(2,036
)
 
(495
)
Net income (loss) per common share:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Basic
 
$
0.29

 
$
(0.70
)
 
$
(0.68
)
 
$
(1.36
)
 
$
(0.33
)
Assuming dilution
 
$
0.29

 
$
(0.70
)
 
$
(0.68
)
 
$
(1.36
)
 
$
(0.33
)
Balance Sheet Data
As of December 31,
 
2011
 
2010
 
2009
 
2008
 
2007
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities
 
$
267

 
$
213

 
$
864

 
$
1,641

 
$
1,452

Working capital (1)
 
1,298

 
1,006

 
1,577

 
2,219

 
2,691

Total assets
 
21,290

 
22,128

 
25,177

 
27,139

 
31,197

Borrowings (long-term and short-term)
 
4,261

 
5,438

 
5,918

 
6,745

 
8,189

Stockholders’ equity
 
11,353

 
11,296

 
12,301

 
13,174

 
15,097

Book value per common share
 
$
7.84

 
$
7.43

 
$
8.14

 
$
8.77

 
$
10.12

(1)
 
In 2010, we reclassified certain assets to the ‘assets held for sale’ caption in our consolidated balance sheets. These assets are labeled as ‘current’ in our 2010 consolidated balance sheet to give effect to the short term nature of those assets that were divested in the first quarter of 2011 in connection with the sale of our Neurovascular business and other assets that were expected to be sold in 2011. We reclassified 2009 balances for comparative purposes in the working capital metric above. We have not restated working capital for these items in years prior to 2009. As of December 31, 2011, we do not have any remaining assets held for sale.
See also Note C - Divestitures and Assets Held for Sale to our 2011 consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report.

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ITEM 7.     MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Executive Summary
Financial Highlights and Trends
In 2011, we generated net sales of $7.622 billion, as compared to $7.806 billion in 2010, a decrease of $184 million, or two percent. Our sales declined approximately $200 million as a result of the sale of our Neurovascular business in January 2011; offsetting this decline was the favorable impact of foreign currency fluctuations, which contributed $204 million to our net sales in 2011, as compared to 2010. Excluding the impact of foreign currency and sales from divested businesses, our net sales decreased $182 million, or two percent, as compared to the prior year. This decrease was due primarily to constant currency declines in net sales from our Interventional Cardiology division of $180 million and constant currency declines in net sales from our Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) business of $144 million. These decreases were partially offset by constant currency increases in net sales from our Endoscopy business of $69 million, net sales from our Peripheral Interventions business of $36 million, and net sales from our Neuromodulation business of $31 million, as compared to the same period in the prior year.1 In addition, our 2010 net sales were negatively impacted by approximately $120 million as a result of the 2010 U.S. CRM ship hold. Refer to the Business and Market Overview section for further discussion of our sales results and the 2010 U.S. CRM ship hold.
Our reported net income in 2011 was $441 million, or $0.29 per share. Our reported results for 2011 included goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges; acquisition-, divestiture-, restructuring- and litigation-related charges and credits; discrete tax items; and amortization expense (after-tax) of $577 million, or $0.38 per share. Excluding these items, net income for 2011 was $1.018 billion, or $0.67 per share. Our reported net loss in 2010 was $1.065 billion, or $0.70 per share. Our reported results for 2010 included goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges; acquisition-, divestiture-, restructuring- and litigation-related charges and credits; discrete tax items; and amortization expense (after-tax) of $2.116 billion, or $1.39 per share. Excluding these items, net income for 2010 was $1.051 billion, or $0.69 per share. The following is a reconciliation of our results of operations prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP to those adjusted results considered by management. Refer to Results of Operations for a discussion of each reconciling item:

 
 
Year Ended December 31, 2011
 
 
 
 
Tax
 
 
 
Impact per
 
 
in millions, except per share data
 
Pre-Tax
 
Impact
 
After-Tax
 
share
 
 
GAAP results
 
$
642

 
$
(201
)
 
$
441

 
$
0.29

 
 
Non-GAAP adjustments:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Goodwill impairment charge
 
697

 
 
 
697

 
0.46

 
 
Intangible asset impairment charges
 
21

 
(5
)
 
16

 
0.01

 
 
Acquisition-related net credits
 
(25
)
 
(2
)
 
(27
)
 
(0.02
)
 
 
Divestiture-related net credits
 
(773
)
 
231

 
(542
)
 
(0.35
)
 
 
Restructuring-related charges
 
129

 
(39
)
 
90

 
0.06

 
 
Litigation-related charges
 
48

 
(18
)
 
30

 
0.02

 
 
Discrete tax items
 
 
 
(27
)
 
(27
)
 
(0.02
)
 
 
Amortization expense
 
421

 
(81
)
 
340

 
0.22

 
 
Adjusted results
 
$
1,160

 
$
(142
)
 
$
1,018

 
$
0.67

 
 






1 Sales growth rates that exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and net income and net income per share excluding certain items required by GAAP are not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (U.S. GAAP). Refer to Additional Information for a discussion of management’s use of these non-GAAP financial measures.

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Year Ended December 31, 2010
 
 
 
 
Tax
 
 
 
Impact per
 
 
in millions, except per share data
 
Pre-Tax
 
Impact
 
After-Tax
 
share
 
 
GAAP results
 
$
(1,063
)
 
$
(2
)
 
$
(1,065
)
 
$
(0.70
)
 
 
Non-GAAP adjustments:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Goodwill impairment charge
 
1,817

 
 
 
1,817

 
1.20

 
*
Intangible asset impairment charges
 
65

 
(10
)
 
55

 
0.03

 
*
Acquisition-related credits
 
(245
)
 
34

 
(211
)
 
(0.13
)
 
*
Divestiture-related charges
 
2

 
 
 
2

 

 
*
Restructuring-related charges
 
169

 
(48
)
 
121

 
0.08

 
*
Litigation-related credit
 
(104
)
 
27

 
(77
)
 
(0.05
)
 
*
Discrete tax items
 
 
 
(11
)
 
(11
)
 
(0.01
)
 
*
Amortization expense
 
513

 
(93
)
 
420

 
0.27

 
*
Adjusted results
 
$
1,154

 
$
(103
)
 
$
1,051

 
$
0.69

 
 
*
 
Assumes dilution of 10.0 million shares for the year ended December 31, 2010 for all or a portion of these non-GAAP adjustments.
Cash generated by operating activities was $1.008 billion in 2011, as compared to $325 million in 2010. Our operating cash flows included approximately $300 million of litigation-related net payments in 2011, as compared to approximately $1.6 billion in 2010; in addition, in 2010 we received an acquisition-related milestone payment of $250 million. Our cash generated from operations continues to be a significant source of funds for investing in our growth and returning value to shareholders by buying back shares of our common stock, pursuant to our share repurchase authorizations discussed in Note L - Stockholders' Equity to our 2011 consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report. During 2011, we used $492 million of cash generated from operations to repurchase approximately 82 million shares of our common stock. As of December 31, 2011, we had total debt of $4.261 billion, cash and cash equivalents of $267 million and working capital of $1.298 billion. During 2011, we prepaid the remaining $1.0 billion of our term loan and paid $250 million of our senior notes at maturity. In July 2011, Fitch Ratings upgraded our corporate credit rating to BBB-, an investment-grade rating; and in February 2012, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded our corporate credit rating to Baa3, an investment-grade rating. In addition, Standard & Poor's Rating Services has maintained an investment-grade corporate credit rating for us since 2009. We believe these rating improvements reflect the strength of our product portfolio and cash flows, the reduction of our debt, and our improved financial fundamentals. Refer to Liquidity and Capital Resources for further discussion.

Business and Market Overview
Coronary Stent Systems
We are the only company in the industry to offer a two-drug platform strategy, which we believe has enabled us to maintain our leadership position in the drug-eluting stent market. We market our next-generation internally-developed and self-manufactured PROMUS® Element™ drug-eluting stent platform in the U.S., our Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) region and certain Inter-Continental countries, including China beginning in the fourth quarter of 2011. We market our PROMUS® everolimus-eluting stent system, supplied to us by Abbott Laboratories in Japan. We expect to launch our PROMUS® Element™ stent system in Japan at or before mid-2012. We also offer our TAXUS® paclitaxel-eluting stent line, including our third-generation TAXUS® Element™ stent system in the U.S., Japan, EMEA and certain Inter-Continental countries. Our Element™ stent platform incorporates a unique platinum chromium alloy designed to offer greater radial strength and flexibility, enhanced visibility and reduced recoil, compared to older alloys. The innovative stent design improves deliverability and allows for more consistent lesion coverage and drug distribution. These product offerings demonstrate our commitment to drug-eluting stent market leadership and continued innovation. Our coronary stent system offerings also include the VeriFLEX™ (Liberté®) bare-metal coronary stent system and our third-generation OMEGA™ platinum chromium bare-metal coronary stent system.
Net sales of our coronary stent systems, including bare-metal stent systems, of $1.620 billion represented approximately 21 percent of our consolidated net sales in 2011. Worldwide net sales of these products decreased $50 million, or three percent, in 2011, as compared to 2010. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, which contributed $45 million to our coronary stent system net sales in 2011, as compared to the prior year, net sales of these products decreased $95 million, or six percent. Despite continued competition and pricing pressures, we maintained our leadership position during 2011 with an estimated 35 percent share of the worldwide drug-eluting stent market. During the second quarter of 2011, one of our competitors announced plans to exit the drug-eluting stent market. Although the full impact on the market remains uncertain, we believe this

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presents an opportunity for us to expand our presence in the worldwide drug-eluting stent market and the broader cardiovascular market.
The following are the components of our worldwide coronary stent system sales:
 
 
Year Ended
 
Year Ended
(in millions)
 
December 31, 2011
 
December 31, 2010
 
 
U.S.
 
International
 
Total
 
U.S.
 
International
 
Total
TAXUS®
 
$
281

 
$
139

 
$
420

 
$
277

 
$
223

 
$
500

PROMUS®
 
459

 
196

 
655

 
528

 
282

 
810

PROMUS® Element™
 
10

 
424

 
434

 
 
 
227

 
227

Drug-eluting
 
750

 
759

 
1,509

 
805

 
732

 
1,537

Bare-metal
 
32

 
79

 
111

 
44

 
89

 
133

 
 
$
782

 
$
838

 
$
1,620

 
$
849

 
$
821

 
$
1,670

Our U.S. net sales of drug-eluting stent systems decreased $55 million, or seven percent, in 2011, as compared to 2010. The decline was due to an overall decrease in the size of the market, resulting principally from lower average selling prices driven by competitive and other pricing pressures, and lower procedural volumes. This decline was partially offset by an increase in our share of the U.S. drug-eluting stent market due largely to the launch of our third-generation TAXUS® Element™ stent system in the U.S. (commercialized as ION™) in the second quarter of 2011. We estimate that the average selling price of drug-eluting stent systems in the U.S. decreased approximately seven percent in 2011, as compared to 2010 and estimate that the number of percutaneous coronary intervention procedures performed decreased one percent in 2011, as compared to 2010. We believe that average drug-eluting stent penetration rates (a measure of the mix between bare-metal and drug-eluting stents used across procedures) in the U.S. were 77 percent during both 2011 and 2010. In addition, we believe our share of the U.S. drug-eluting stent market approximated 48 percent in 2011, as compared to 46 percent in 2010. During the fourth quarter of 2011, we received FDA approval and began launching our next-generation, internally-developed and self-manufactured PROMUS® Element™ everolimus-eluting stent platform in the U.S. Our PROMUS® Element™ stent system has significantly higher gross profit and operating profit margins as compared to our PROMUS® stent system, which is supplied to us by Abbott, based on the terms of the PROMUS® supply arrangement. We expect to fully convert our U.S. drug-eluting stent system sales to self-manufactured PROMUS® Element™ and TAXUS® stent systems during 2012. We believe that our Element™ platinum chromium stent platform, combined with our two-drug platform strategy and broad range of stent sizes, provides a competitive advantage that has allowed us to expand our leadership position in the U.S. drug-eluting stent market.
Our international drug-eluting stent system net sales increased $27 million, or four percent, in 2011, as compared to 2010. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, which contributed $41 million to our international drug-eluting stent system net sales in 2011, as compared to the prior year, net sales of our drug-eluting stent systems decreased $14 million, or two percent. Our net sales of drug-eluting stent systems in our Inter-Continental region increased $18 million, or nine percent, on a constant currency basis, in 2011, as compared to 2010, driven by sales growth in key emerging markets, including China, Brazil and India. Our net sales of drug-eluting stent systems in our EMEA region decreased $4 million, or one percent in 2011, as compared to 2010, due primarily to declines in average selling prices. Net sales of our drug-eluting stent systems in Japan decreased $28 million, or 13 percent, on a constant currency basis, in 2011, as compared to 2010, driven primarily by a loss of market share due to competitive launches.
We are currently reliant on Abbott Laboratories for our supply of everolimus-eluting stent systems in Japan. Our supply agreement with Abbott for everolimus-eluting stent systems extends through June 30, 2012. At present, we believe that our supply of everolimus-eluting stent systems from Abbott, coupled with our current launch plans for our internally-developed and self-manufactured next-generation PROMUS® Element™ everolimus-eluting stent system in Japan, currently expected at or before mid-2012, will be sufficient to meet our customer demand.
Historically, the worldwide coronary stent market has been dynamic and highly competitive with significant market share volatility. In addition, in the ordinary course of our business, we conduct and participate in numerous clinical trials with a variety of study designs, patient populations and trial end points. Unfavorable or inconsistent clinical data from existing or future clinical trials conducted by us, our competitors or third parties, or the market’s perception of these clinical data, may adversely impact our position in, and share of, the drug-eluting stent market and may contribute to increased volatility in the market.
We believe that we can sustain our leadership position within the worldwide drug-eluting stent market in the foreseeable future for a variety of reasons, including:

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our two-drug platform strategy, including specialty stent sizes;
the broad and consistent long-term results of our TAXUS® clinical trials, and the favorable results of XIENCE V®/PROMUS®, PROMUS® Element™ and TAXUS® Element™ (ION™) stent system clinical trials to date;
the performance benefits of our current and future technology;
the strength of our pipeline of drug-eluting stent products, including our PROMUS® Element™ stent system, launched in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2011 and expected to be launched in Japan at or before mid-2012;
our overall position in the worldwide interventional medicine market and our experienced interventional cardiology sales force;
the strength of our clinical, selling, marketing and manufacturing capabilities; and
our increased presence and investment in the rapidly growing emerging markets, including China and India.
However, a decline in net sales from our drug-eluting stent systems could have a significant adverse impact on our operating results and operating cash flows. The most significant variables that may impact the size of the drug-eluting stent market and our position within this market include, but are not limited to:
the impact of competitive pricing pressure on average selling prices of drug-eluting stent systems available in the market;
the impact and outcomes of on-going and future clinical results involving our or our competitors’ products, including those trials sponsored by our competitors, or perceived product performance of our or our competitors’ products;
physician and patient confidence in our current and next-generation technology;
our ability to timely and successfully launch next-generation products and technology features, including the PROMUS® Element™ stent system in Japan;
changes in drug-eluting stent penetration rates, the overall number of percutaneous coronary intervention procedures performed and the average number of stents used per procedure;
delayed or limited regulatory approvals and unfavorable reimbursement policies;
new product launches by our competitors; and
the outcome of intellectual property litigation.
During 2009, 2010 and 2011, we successfully negotiated closure of several long-standing legal matters and recently received favorable legal rulings in several other matters; however, there continues to be outstanding intellectual property litigation, particularly in the coronary stent market. In particular, although we have resolved multiple litigation matters with Johnson & Johnson, we continue to be involved in patent litigation with them, primarily relating to drug-eluting stent systems. Adverse outcomes in one or more of these matters could have a material adverse effect on our ability to sell certain products and on our operating margins, financial position, results of operations and/or liquidity.
Interventional Cardiology (excluding coronary stent systems)
In addition to coronary stent systems, our Interventional Cardiology business markets balloon catheters, rotational atherectomy systems, guide wires, guide catheters, embolic protection devices, and diagnostic catheters used in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) procedures, as well as intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging systems. Our worldwide net sales of these products were $875 million in 2011, as compared to $932 million in 2010, a decrease of $57 million, or six percent. Our U.S. net sales were $342 million in 2011, as compared to $394 million in 2010. Our international net sales of these products were $533 million in 2011, as compared to $538 million in 2010, and included a $28 million favorable impact from changes in foreign currency exchange rates for the year ended December 31, 2011, as compared to the prior year. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, Interventional Cardiology (excluding coronary stent systems) net sales decreased $85 million, or nine percent, as compared to the prior year. This decrease was primarily the result of competitive pricing pressures, market-wide reductions in procedural volumes and market share declines in our IVUS business. We continue to hold a strong leadership position in the PTCA balloon catheter market, with an estimated 53 percent average share of the U.S. market and 30 percent of the worldwide market in 2011. In June 2010, we launched the NC Quantum Apex™ post-dilatation balloon catheter, developed specifically to address physicians’ needs in optimizing coronary stent deployment, which has been received positively in the market and, in the second half of 2010, also launched our Apex™ pre-dilatation balloon catheter with platinum marker bands for improved radiopacity.

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As part of our strategic plan, we are investigating opportunities to further expand our presence in, and diversify into, other areas and disease states, including structural heart therapy. In March 2011, as part of our priority growth initiatives, we completed the acquisition of Atritech, Inc. Atritech has developed a novel device designed to close the left atrial appendage in patients with atrial fibrillation who are at risk for ischemic stroke. The WATCHMAN® Left Atrial Appendage Closure Technology, developed by Atritech, is the first device proven in a randomized clinical trial to offer an alternative to anticoagulant drugs, and is approved for use in CE Mark countries. We expect to complete enrollment in our U.S. clinical trial by the end of 2012 and expect to receive FDA approval in 2013. We are integrating the operations of the Atritech business and are leveraging expertise from both our Electrophysiology and Interventional Cardiology divisions in the commercialization of the WATCHMAN® device.
In addition, in January 2011, we completed the acquisition of Sadra Medical, Inc. Sadra is developing a fully repositionable and retrievable device for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) to treat patients with severe aortic stenosis using its Lotus™ Valve System, which consists of a stent-mounted tissue valve prosthesis and catheter delivery system for guidance and placement of the valve. The low-profile delivery system and introducer sheath are designed to enable accurate positioning, repositioning and retrieval at any time prior to release of the aortic valve implant. TAVR is one of the fastest growing medical device markets.
Cardiac Rhythm Management
Our Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) division develops, manufactures and markets a variety of implantable devices including implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) systems and pacemaker systems that monitor the heart and deliver electricity to treat cardiac abnormalities. Our product offerings include our COGNIS® cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D), our TELIGEN® ICD systems and our ALTRUA® family of pacemaker systems. In the fourth quarter of 2011, we began the U.S. launch of our next-generation line of defibrillators, INCEPTA™, ENERGEN™ and PUNCTUA™, which are among the world’s smallest and thinnest high-energy devices and deliver excellent longevity. This tiered product line includes new features designed to improve functionality, diagnostic capability and ease of use and we expect it will allow us to effectively compete in all segments of the market. Additionally, this next-generation of defibrillators includes models with our 4-SITE lead delivery system which is built off our highly reliable RELIANCE platform.
We expect to launch the INGENIO™ family of pacemaker systems in EMEA and in the U.S. during the first half of 2012. This launch would represent our first new major pacemaker system technology introduction in many years and is expected to be the foundation for a series of low-voltage pacemaker launches. The INGENIO™ system includes functionality for remote patient monitoring; features for advanced heart failure diagnostics; and is expected to be compatible with MRI systems in mid-2012 in EMEA, based on our current launch plans.
Worldwide net sales of our CRM products of $2.087 billion represented approximately 27 percent of our consolidated net sales in 2011. Our worldwide CRM net sales decreased $93 million, or four percent, in 2011, as compared to 2010. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, which contributed $51 million to our 2011 CRM net sales as compared to 2010, our CRM net sales decreased $144 million, or seven percent.
The following are the components of our worldwide CRM net sales:

 
 
Year Ended
 
Year Ended
(in millions)
 
December 31, 2011
 
December 31, 2010
 
 
U.S.
 
International
 
Total
 
U.S.
 
International
 
Total
ICD systems
 
$
949

 
$
569

 
$
1,518

 
$
1,037

 
$
562

 
$
1,599

Pacemaker systems
 
279

 
290

 
569

 
320

 
261

 
581

CRM products
 
$
1,228

 
$
859

 
$
2,087

 
$
1,357

 
$
823

 
$
2,180

Our U.S. CRM net sales decreased $129 million, or 10 percent, in 2011, as compared to 2010. The reduction in our CRM net sales during 2011 reflects the impact of a contraction in the U.S. ICD market. We believe the U.S. ICD market contraction is due to a variety of factors, including physician reaction to study results published by the Journal of the American Medical Association regarding evidence-based guidelines for ICD implants, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations into hospitals’ ICD implant practices and the expansion of Medicare recovery audits, as well as on-going physician alignment to hospitals and competitive pricing pressures. In addition, our 2010 net sales were negatively impacted by approximately $120 million as a result of not selling certain of our U.S. CRM products during portions of the first and second quarters of 2010. On March 15, 2010, we announced a ship hold and removal of our field inventory related to our ICD and CRT-D systems in the U.S. after determining that certain instances of changes in the manufacturing process related to these products were not submitted for approval to the FDA. During the second quarter of 2010, we submitted the required documentation and received clearance from the FDA for these manufacturing changes and resumed distribution of our ICD and CRT-D systems. We believe that the recent launches of our next-generation line

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of defibrillators, and the expected launch of our next-generation of INGENIO™ pacemaker systems in the first half of 2012 in the U.S., will help enhance our position in the U.S. CRM market.
Our international CRM net sales increased $36 million, or four percent, in 2011, as compared to 2010. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, our international CRM net sales decreased $15 million, or two percent, as compared to the prior year. Our net sales of our CRM products decreased $40 million, or seven percent, in our EMEA region, as compared to the prior year, due primarily to lower average selling prices, driven by competitive and other pricing pressures. This decrease was partially offset by a constant currency increase in net sales of $12 million, or nine percent, in our Inter-Continental region in 2011, as compared to 2010. This increase was driven by growth in sales of our pacemaker systems and the continued market acceptance of our COGNIS® CRT-D and TELIGEN® ICD systems, and our 4-SITE lead delivery system, which was launched in the fourth quarter of 2010. Our net sales of CRM products in Japan increased $13 million, or 13 percent, on a constant currency basis, as compared to the prior year. We received CE Mark approval for our INCEPTA™, ENERGEN™ and PUNCTUA™ next-generation line of defibrillators in 2011 and we plan to launch our next-generation INGENIO™ family of pacemaker systems in our EMEA and certain Inter-Continental regions in the first half of 2012.
Net sales from our CRM products represent a significant source of our overall net sales. Therefore, increases or decreases in our CRM net sales could have a significant impact on our results of operations. The variables that may impact the size of the CRM market and/or our share of that market include, but are not limited to:
the on-going impact of physician alignment to hospitals, government investigations and audits of hospitals, and other market and economic conditions on the overall number of procedures performed and average selling prices;
our ability to retain and attract key members of our CRM sales force and other key CRM personnel;
the ability of CRM manufacturers to maintain the trust and confidence of the implanting physician community, the referring physician community and prospective patients in CRM technologies;
future product field actions or new physician advisories issued by us or our competitors;
our ability to timely and successfully develop and launch next-generation products and technologies worldwide;
variations in clinical results, reliability or product performance of our and our competitors’ products;
delayed or limited regulatory approvals and unfavorable reimbursement policies; and
new product launches by our competitors.
Endoscopy
Our Endoscopy division develops and manufactures devices to treat a variety of medical conditions including diseases of the digestive and pulmonary systems. Our worldwide net sales of these products were $1.187 billion in 2011, as compared to $1.079 billion in 2010, an increase of $108 million, or 10 percent, driven by products recently introduced, expanded indications and the increased adoption of our single-use products. Our U.S. net sales of our Endoscopy products were $562 million in 2011, as compared to $541 million in 2010. Our international net sales were $625 million in 2011, as compared to $538 million in 2010, and included a $39 million favorable impact from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, our worldwide Endoscopy net sales increased $69 million, or six percent, in 2011, as compared to the prior year. This increase was due primarily to higher net sales within our stent franchise, driven by our WallFlex® family of stents; in particular, the WallFlex® Biliary line, including the WallFlex® Biliary RX Fully Covered Stent, which obtained CE Mark for treatment of benign biliary strictures in the fourth quarter of 2010. Increases in our biliary device sales were also supported by growth in our Advanix™ Biliary Plastic Stent System and the Expect™ Endoscopic Ultrasound Aspiration Needle, which we launched in the U.S. and certain international markets in the second quarter of 2011. Our hemostasis franchise sales also grew based on continued adoption and utilization of our Resolution® Clip Device, an endoscopic mechanical clip designed to treat gastrointestinal bleeding.
As part of our strategic plan, we are investigating opportunities to further expand our presence in, and diversify into, other areas and disease states, including endoscopic pulmonary intervention. In October 2010, we completed our acquisition of Asthmatx, Inc. Asthmatx designs, manufactures and markets a less-invasive, catheter-based bronchial thermoplasty procedure for the treatment of severe persistent asthma. The Alair® Bronchial Thermoplasty System, developed by Asthmatx, has both CE Mark and FDA approval and is the first device-based asthma treatment approved by the FDA. We expect this technology to strengthen our existing offering of pulmonary devices and contribute to mid- to long-term sales growth and diversification of the Endoscopy business.
Peripheral Interventions (PI)
Our PI product offerings include stents, balloon catheters, wires, peripheral embolization devices and vena cava filters, which are

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used to diagnose and treat peripheral vascular disease. Our worldwide net sales of these products were $731 million in 2011, as compared to $669 million in 2010, an increase of $62 million, or nine percent. Our U.S. net sales of these products were $310 million in 2011 and 2010. Our international net sales were $421 million in 2011, as compared to $359 million in 2010, and included a $26 million favorable impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, our worldwide PI net sales increased $36 million, or five percent in 2011, as compared to 2010, driven by growth in all three of our peripheral interventions product franchises. Growth in our PI stent systems was driven by the EPIC™ self-expanding nitinol stent system in certain international markets and the Carotid WALLSTENT® stent system in Japan. We currently expect to launch the EPIC™ stent system in the U.S. during 2012. Our Core PI franchise experienced market share growth in 2011 driven primarily by the recent launches of our next-generation Mustang™ percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) balloon, our Coyote™ balloon catheter, a highly deliverable and ultra-low profile balloon dilatation catheter designed for a wide range of peripheral angioplasty procedures, and our Charger™ PTA Balloon Catheter, launched in the U.S. in December 2011. In addition, our interventional oncology franchise continued strong worldwide sales growth, as recently launched products, including the Renegade® HI-FLO™ Fathom® microcatheter and guidewire system and Interlock™ - 35 Fibered IDC™ Occlusion System for peripheral embolization, continue to be well received by our customers. We expect to have a number of new PI products launching throughout 2012 that we believe will drive future growth in this business.
As part of our strategic plan, we are investigating opportunities to further expand our presence in, and diversify into, other areas and disease states. In February 2011, we announced the acquisitions of S.I. Therapies and ReVascular Therapeutics, Inc., which add to our PI portfolio a re-entry catheter and intraluminal chronic total occlusion (CTO) crossing device, enabling endovascular treatment in cases that typically cannot be treated with standard endovascular devices. We have commenced a limited market release of our OFFROAD™ re-entry catheter system in certain international markets, and in February 2012, we launched our TRUEPATH™ intraluminal CTO device in the U.S. We expect to launch our TRUEPATH™ device in EMEA during the first half of 2012, and to expand the launch of our OFFROAD™ system in our international markets throughout 2012. We believe that offering these devices will enhance our position in assisting physicians in addressing the challenges of treating complex peripheral lesions.
Urology/Women’s Health
Our Urology/Women’s Health division develops, manufactures and sells devices to treat various urological and gynecological disorders. Our worldwide net sales of these products were $498 million in 2011, as compared to $481 million in 2010, an increase of $17 million, or four percent. Our U.S. net sales were $362 million in 2011, as compared to $365 million in 2010. Our international net sales were $136 million in 2011, as compared to $116 million in 2010, and included an $8 million favorable impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, worldwide net sales of our Urology/Women’s Health products increased $9 million in 2011, as compared to 2010.
Our Urology business experienced positive growth in 2011 due to the strength of our U.S. Core Stone Management business. The 2010 launch of our Accumax® and Flexiva™ Laser Fibers drove the net sales growth in our U.S. Core Stone business. Additionally, our Stone business experienced double-digit net sales growth in our Inter-Continental region in 2011, as compared to 2010.
Our Women's Health business was negatively impacted in 2011 by elective procedural softness and competitive product offerings. In addition, in July 2011, the FDA released a Public Health Notice update regarding complications related to the use of urogynecologic surgical mesh for pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. Partially offsetting these negative impacts were increased market share and sales of our Genesys Hydro ThermAblator® (HTA) system, a next-generation endometrial ablation system designed to ablate the endometrial lining of the uterus in premenopausal women with menorrhagia. The Genesys HTA System features a smaller and lighter console, simplified set-up requirements, and an enhanced graphic user interface and is designed to improve operating performance.
Neuromodulation
Our worldwide net sales of Neuromodulation products were $336 million in 2011, as compared to $304 million in 2010, an increase of $32 million, or 11 percent. Our U.S. net sales of Neuromodulation products were $317 million in 2011, as compared to $288 million in 2010, and our international net sales of these products were $19 million in 2011, as compared to $16 million in 2010, and included a $1 million favorable impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The increase in U.S. net sales was due primarily to higher procedural volumes and positive momentum from recent product launches, partially offset by the impact of competitive launches. Within our Neuromodulation business, we market the Precision® Plus™ Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) system, the world's first rechargeable SCS device for chronic pain management. In addition, in the second quarter of 2011, we received CE Mark approval and launched our Clik™ Anchor for our Precision® Plus™ SCS System. In the fourth quarter of 2011, we received FDA approval for and launched the Infinion™ 16 Percutaneous Lead, the world's first and only 16-contact percutaneous lead. We also market the Linear™ 3-4 and Linear 3-6 Percutaneous Leads for use with our SCS systems, which are designed to provide physicians more treatment options for their chronic pain patients. We believe that we continue to have a

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technology advantage over our competitors with proprietary features such as Multiple Independent Current Control, which is intended to allow the physician to target specific areas of pain more precisely, and the broadest range of percutaneous lead configurations in the industry.
We are looking to strengthen the clinical evidence with spinal cord stimulation and are committed to studies designed to demonstrate cost effectiveness or demonstrate the value of proprietary features in our SCS system.  We expect to complete our VANTAGE Study, a European clinical trial for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease using our Vercise™ Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) System in 2013.  We believe we have an exciting opportunity in DBS with our ability to customize the field designed to precisely stimulate the target without extraneous stimulation of adjacent areas that may cause unwanted side effects.  In addition, in January 2011, we completed the acquisition of Intelect Medical, Inc., a development-stage company developing advanced visualization and programming for the Vercise™ system. We believe this acquisition leverages the core architecture of our Vercise™ platform and will advance our technology in the field of deep-brain stimulation.
Electrophysiology
We develop less-invasive medical technologies used in the diagnosis and treatment of rate and rhythm disorders of the heart. Our leading products include the Blazer™ line of ablation catheters, designed to deliver enhanced performance, responsiveness and durability. Our Blazer™ line includes our next generation Blazer™ Prime ablation catheter, and our Blazer™ Open-Irrigated Catheter, launched in select European countries, our latest radiofrequency ablation catheter designed to treat a variety of arrhythmias. Worldwide net sales of our Electrophysiology products were $147 million in 2011 and 2010. Our U.S. net sales of these products were $107 million in 2011, as compared to $112 million in 2010. Our international net sales of these products were $40 million in 2011, as compared to $35 million in 2010. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, which contributed $3 million to our worldwide Electrophysiology net sales, as compared to the prior year, worldwide Electrophysiology net sales decreased $3 million, or two percent, in 2011, as compared to 2010.
Emerging Markets

As part of our POWER strategy, described in Item 1 of this Annual Report, we are seeking to grow net sales and market share by expanding our global presence. In particular, we are focusing our efforts and increasing our investment in certain countries whose economies and healthcare sectors are growing rapidly, in order to maximize opportunities in those countries. We significantly increased sales in China, Brazil and India and continued investments in infrastructure in those countries in 2011. As a result of these efforts, during 2011, we experienced double-digit sales growth in these markets, as compared to 2010. We recently created a new Asia-Pacific regional organization under new leadership to further increase our capabilities and strengthen our position in the world's fastest growing region.

We are planning to invest $150 million over a five-year period in order to expand our commercial presence in China, one of the world's largest and fastest-growing medical device markets. We expect to build a local manufacturing operation focused on serving Chinese market needs, as well as develop a world class training center for healthcare providers. In addition, we expect to further invest in local research and development and clinical studies in emerging markets.

Neurovascular Divestiture

In January 2011, we closed the sale of our Neurovascular business to Stryker Corporation for a purchase price of $1.5 billion in cash. We received $1.450 billion during 2011, and will receive an additional $50 million contingent upon the transfer or separation of certain manufacturing facilities, which we expect will occur during 2013. We are providing transitional services through a transition services agreement, and are also manufacturing and supplying products to Stryker. These transition services and supply agreements are expected to be effective through the end of 2012, subject to extension. We recorded revenue of $141 million during 2011 related to this divested business as compared to $344 million of sales of Neurovascular and other divested product lines in 2010. Our sales related to divested businesses will continue to decline as the various transition services and supply agreements terminate. See Results of Operations and Note C - Divestitures and Assets Held for Sale for additional information.
Restructuring Initiatives
On an on-going basis, we monitor the dynamics of the economy, the healthcare industry, and the markets in which we compete; and we continue to assess opportunities for improved operational effectiveness and efficiency, and better alignment of expenses with revenues, while preserving our ability to make the investments in research and development projects, capital and our people that are essential to our long-term success. As a result of these assessments, we have undertaken various restructuring initiatives in order to enhance our growth potential and position us for long-term success. These initiatives are described below, and additional information can be found in Results of Operations and Note H – Restructuring-related Activities to our 2011 consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report.

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2011 Restructuring plan
On July 26, 2011, our Board of Directors approved, and we committed to, a restructuring initiative (the 2011 Restructuring plan) designed to strengthen operational effectiveness and efficiencies, increase competitiveness and support new investments, thereby increasing shareholder value. We estimate that the execution of the plan will reduce annual pre-tax operating expenses by approximately $225 million to $275 million exiting 2013, a portion of which will be reinvested in targeted areas necessary for future growth, including priority growth and emerging markets initiatives. Key activities under the plan include standardizing and automating certain processes and activities; relocating select administrative and functional activities; rationalizing organizational reporting structures; leveraging preferred vendors; and other efforts to eliminate inefficiency. Among these efforts, we are expanding our ability to deliver best-in-class global shared services for certain functions and divisions at several locations in emerging markets. This action is intended to enable us to grow our global commercial presence in key geographies and take advantage of many cost-reducing and productivity-enhancing opportunities. In addition, we are undertaking efforts to streamline various corporate functions, eliminate bureaucracy, increase productivity and better align corporate resources to our key business strategies. Activities under the 2011 Restructuring plan were initiated in the third quarter of 2011 and are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2013.
2010 Restructuring plan
On February 6, 2010, our Board of Directors approved, and we committed to, a series of management changes and restructuring initiatives (the 2010 Restructuring plan) designed to focus our business, drive innovation, accelerate profitable revenue growth and increase both accountability and shareholder value. Key activities under the plan include the integration of our Cardiovascular and CRM businesses, as well as the restructuring of certain other businesses and corporate functions; the re-alignment of our international structure to reduce our administrative costs and invest in expansion opportunities including significant investments in emerging markets; and the reprioritization and diversification of our product portfolio. We estimate that the execution of this plan will result in gross reductions in pre-tax operating expenses of approximately $200 million to $250 million, once completed in 2012. We expect to reinvest a portion of the savings into customer-facing and other activities to help drive future sales growth and support the business. Activities under the 2010 Restructuring plan were initiated in the first quarter of 2010 and are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2012.
Plant Network Optimization
In January 2009, our Board of Directors approved, and we committed to, a Plant Network Optimization program, which is intended to simplify our manufacturing plant structure by transferring certain production lines among facilities and by closing certain other facilities. The program is a complement to our 2007 Restructuring plan, and is intended to improve overall gross profit margins. We estimate that the program will result in annualized run-rate reductions of manufacturing costs of approximately $65 million exiting 2012. These savings are in addition to the estimated $35 million of annual reductions of manufacturing costs from activities under our completed 2007 Restructuring plan. Activities under the Plant Network Optimization program were initiated in the first quarter of 2009 and are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2012.
Healthcare Reform
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act were enacted into law in the U.S. in 2010. Certain provisions of the law have yet to be implemented and there are many programs and requirements for which the details have not yet been fully established or consequences not yet fully understood; therefore, it is unclear what the full impact will be from the law. The legislation imposes on medical device manufacturers a 2.3 percent excise tax on U.S. sales of Class I, II and III medical devices beginning in January 2013. U.S. net sales represented approximately 50 percent of our worldwide net sales in 2011 and, therefore, this tax burden may have a material negative impact on our results of operations and cash flows. Other provisions of this law, including Medicare provisions aimed at improving quality and decreasing costs, comparative effectiveness research, an independent payment advisory board, and pilot programs to evaluate alternative payment methodologies, could meaningfully change the way healthcare is developed and delivered, and will place a significant emphasis on clinical and economic data to demonstrate efficacy and justify the economic benefits of technology purchases. Any changes that lower reimbursement for our products or reduce medical procedure volumes could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Further, we cannot predict what healthcare programs and regulations will be ultimately implemented at the federal or state level, or the effect of any future legislation or regulation in the U.S. or internationally.

Results of Operations
Net Sales
As of December 31, 2011, we had four reportable segments based on geographic regions: the United States; EMEA, consisting

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of Europe, the Middle East and Africa; Japan; and Inter-Continental, consisting of our Asia Pacific and the Americas operating segments, which include the emerging markets of Brazil, China and India. The reportable segments represent an aggregate of all operating divisions within each segment. We manage our international operating segments on a constant currency basis, and we manage market risk from currency exchange rate changes at the corporate level. Management excludes the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates for purposes of reviewing regional and divisional revenue growth rates to facilitate an evaluation of current operating performance and comparison to past operating performance. To calculate revenue growth rates that exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, we convert current period and prior period net sales from local currency to U.S. dollars using standard currency exchange rates. The regional constant currency growth rates in the tables below can be recalculated from our net sales by reportable segment as presented in Note O – Segment Reporting to our 2011 consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report.
The following tables provide our worldwide net sales by region and the relative change on an as reported and constant currency basis. We have restated regional net sales for 2009 and 2010 to exclude sales from our former Neurovascular business, which we sold to Stryker Corporation in January 2011, and present net sales from this business within divested businesses in the tables below. Net sales that exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates are not financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a replacement for, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. Refer to Additional Information of this Item 7 for a further discussion of management’s use of this non-GAAP financial measure.

 
 
 
 
2011 versus 2010
2010 versus 2009
 
Year Ended
December 31,
As Reported
Currency
Basis
Constant
Currency
Basis
As Reported
Currency
Basis
Constant
Currency
Basis
(in millions)
2011
2010
2009
United States
$
4,010

$
4,215

$
4,550

(5
)
%
(5
)
%
(7
)
%
(7
)
%
EMEA
1,742

1,683

1,750

3

%
(1
)
%
(4
)
%
(1
)
%
Japan
951

886

908

7

%
(2
)
%
(2
)
%
(9
)
%
Inter-Continental
778

678

621

15

%
9

%
9

%
1

%
International
3,471

3,247

3,279

7

%
1

%
(1
)
%
(3
)
%
Subtotal Core Businesses
7,481

7,462

7,829

0

%
(2
)
%
(5
)
%
(5
)
%
Divested Businesses
141

344

359

N/A

 
N/A

 
N/A

 
N/A

 
Worldwide
$
7,622

$
7,806

$
8,188

(2
)
%
(5
)
%
(5
)
%
(5
)
%
The following tables provide our worldwide net sales by division and the relative change on an as reported and constant currency basis.
 
 
 
 
2011 versus 2010
2010 versus 2009
 
Year Ended
December 31,
As Reported
Currency
Basis
Constant
Currency
Basis
As Reported
Currency
Basis
Constant
Currency
Basis
(in millions)
2011
2010
2009
Interventional Cardiology
$
2,495

$
2,602

$
2,859

(4
)
%
(7
)
%
(9
)
%
(10
)
%
Cardiac Rhythm Management
2,087

2,180

2,413

(4
)
%
(7
)
%
(10
)
%
(10
)
%
Endoscopy
1,187

1,079

1,006

10

%
6

%
7

%
6

%
Peripheral Interventions
731

669

661

9

%
5

%
1

%
0

%
Urology/Women’s Health
498

481

456

4

%
2

%
5

%
5

%
Neuromodulation
336

304

285

11

%
10

%
7

%
7

%
Electrophysiology
147

147

149

0

%
(2
)
%
(2
)
%
(2
)
%
Subtotal Core Businesses
7,481

7,462

7,829

0

%
(2
)
%
(5
)
%
(5
)
%
Divested Businesses
141

344

359

N/A

 
N/A

 
N/A

 
N/A

 
Worldwide
$
7,622

$
7,806

$
8,188

(2
)
%
(5
)
%
(5
)
%
(5
)
%

The divisional constant currency growth rates in the tables above can be recalculated from the reconciliations provided below. Growth rates are based on actual, non-rounded amounts and may not recalculate precisely.


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2011 Net Sales as compared to 2010
 
2010 Net Sales as compared to 2009
 
 
Change
 
Estimated
Impact of
Foreign
Currency
 
Change
 
Estimated
Impact of
Foreign
Currency
 
 
As Reported
Currency
Basis
 
Constant
Currency
Basis
 
 
As Reported
Currency
Basis
 
Constant
Currency
Basis
 
(in millions)
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interventional Cardiology
 
$
(107
)
 
$
(180
)
 
$
73

 
$
(257
)
 
$
(295
)
 
$
38

Cardiac Rhythm Management
 
(93
)
 
(144
)
 
51

 
(233
)
 
(230
)
 
(3
)
Endoscopy
 
108

 
69

 
39

 
73

 
64

 
9

Peripheral Interventions
 
62

 
36

 
26

 
8

 
2

 
6

Urology/Women’s Health
 
17

 
9

 
8

 
25

 
21

 
4

Neuromodulation
 
32

 
31

 
1

 
19

 
19

 
0

Electrophysiology
 
0

 
(3
)
 
3

 
(2
)
 
(3
)
 
1

Subtotal Core Businesses
 
19

 
(182
)
 
201

 
(367
)
 
(422
)
 
55

Divested Businesses
 
(203
)
 
(206
)
 
3

 
(15
)
 
(22
)
 
7

Worldwide
 
$
(184
)
 
$
(388
)
 
$
204

 
$
(382
)
 
$
(444
)
 
$
62


U.S. Net Sales
During 2011, our U.S. net sales decreased $205 million, or five percent, as compared to 2010. The decrease was driven primarily by lower U.S. CRM net sales of $129 million resulting from the contraction in the U.S. ICD market in 2011, as well as lower U.S. Interventional Cardiology net sales of $119 million driven by competitive and other pricing pressures and reductions in procedural volumes across our key markets. Partially offsetting these decreases, our Endoscopy business increased U.S. net sales $21 million, as compared to 2010, due primarily to continued commercialization and adoption of products within our stent franchise, and our Neuromodulation division increased U.S. net sales $29 million, as compared to 2010, due primarily to higher procedural volumes and positive momentum from new product launches. Refer to Business and Market Overview for further discussion of our net sales.
During 2010, our U.S. net sales decreased $335 million, or seven percent, as compared to 2009. The decrease was driven primarily by lower U.S. CRM net sales of $237 million, due primarily to the U.S. CRM 2010 ship hold and product removal actions impacting our ICD and CRT-D systems during 2010 in the U.S. On March 15, 2010, we announced a ship hold and removal of our field inventory related to our ICD and CRT-D systems in the U.S. after determining that certain instances of changes in the manufacturing process related to these products were not submitted for approval to the FDA. During the second quarter of 2010, we submitted the required documentation and received clearance from the FDA for these manufacturing changes and resumed distribution of our ICD and CRT-D systems. The reduction in our U.S. CRM net sales was due to lost sales of approximately $120 million during the ship hold, and a reduction of market share following the ship hold. We estimate our U.S. defibrillator market share decreased 300 basis points exiting 2010, as compared to the prior year, due primarily to these product actions. Our U.S. net sales were also negatively impacted by a decline in U.S. coronary stent system net sales of $119 million, due primarily to a decline in our share of the U.S. drug-eluting stent market as well as lower average selling prices. In addition, U.S. net sales of our Interventional Cardiology (excluding coronary stent systems) business decreased $15 million in 2010, as compared to 2009. These decreases were partially offset by increases of U.S. net sales in 2010 from our Endoscopy business of $24 million, $12 million attributable to our Urology/Women’s Health business, and $17 million of growth in our Neuromodulation business, as compared to 2009.
International Net Sales
During 2011, our international net sales increased $224 million, or seven percent, as compared to 2010. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates contributed $201 million to our international net sales in 2011 as compared to 2010. Contributing to the year over year growth in international net sales, were constant currency increases from our Endoscopy business, primarily due to the strength of our WallFlex line of stents, and our Peripheral Interventions business, driven by growth in all three of our PI product franchises. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, net sales in our Inter-Continental region increased $61 million, or nine percent, in 2011, as compared to 2010, primarily as a result of strong growth in China, Brazil and India as we begin to see a return on our commercial investment in these areas. Net sales in our EMEA region decreased $17 million, or one percent, in 2011, as compared to 2010, excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, driven primarily by a decline in CRM net sales. Our net sales in Japan decreased $21 million, or two percent, in 2011, as compared to 2010, excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, due primarily to a decline in Interventional Cardiology net sales. Refer to Business and Market Overview for further discussion of our net sales.
During 2010, our international net sales decreased $32 million, or one percent, as compared to 2009. Foreign currency fluctuations

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contributed approximately $60 million to our international net sales in 2010, as compared to the prior year. Excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, net sales in our EMEA region decreased $16 million, or one percent, in 2010, as compared the prior year. Our net sales in Japan decreased $81 million, or nine percent, excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations in 2010, as compared to 2009, due primarily to competitive launches of drug-eluting stent system technology and clinical trial enrollment limiting our access to certain drug-eluting stent system customers, as well as reductions in average selling prices. Net sales in our Inter-Continental region, excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, increased $6 million, or one percent, in 2010, as compared to the prior year.
Gross Profit
Our gross profit was $4.963 billion in 2011, $5.207 billion in 2010, and $5.612 billion in 2009. As a percentage of net sales, our gross profit decreased to 65.1 percent in 2011, as compared to 66.7 percent in 2010 and 68.5 percent in 2009. The following is a reconciliation of our gross profit margins and a description of the drivers of the change from period to period:
 
Year Ended
December 31,
 
2011
2010
Gross profit - prior year
66.7
 %
68.5
 %
PROMUS® supply true-up
0.6
 %
 
Drug-eluting stent system sales mix and pricing
0.2
 %
(1.7
)%
Impact of CRM ship hold
 
(0.4
)%
Neurovascular divestiture
(1.4
)%
 
Transition-related inventory charges
(0.7
)%
 
All other, including period expenses, other inventory charges and net impact of foreign currency
(0.3
)%
0.3
 %
Gross profit - current year
65.1
 %
66.7
 %
The primary factor contributing to the decrease in our gross profit margin during 2011, as compared to 2010, was the negative impact of lower sales of Neurovascular products and at significantly lower gross profit margins as result of the divestiture of our Neurovascular business in January 2011 and the terms of transitional supply agreements with Stryker. In addition, we recognized transition-related inventory charges of $54 million in 2011, primarily related to PROMUS® excess inventory and purchase commitments as a result of our fourth quarter 2011 launch of our internally-developed and self-manufactured next-generation PROMUS® Element™ stent system in the U.S. The decreases in 2011 were partially offset by the positive impact of a $50 million credit to cost of products sold recognized in the first quarter of 2011, related to a two-year retroactive pricing adjustment pursuant to our PROMUS® supply arrangement with Abbott for historical purchases of PROMUS® stent systems. Our gross profit margin may be positively or negatively impacted in the future as a result of this adjustment process. Declines in average selling prices of our products, particularly our drug-eluting stent systems, were offset by the positive impact of product mix related to sales of our drug-eluting stent systems, as we shifted sales to our internally-developed and manufactured stent systems with more favorable gross profit margins during 2011, as well as the positive impact of cost reductions as a result of our restructuring and other process improvement programs. In addition, our gross profit margin in 2010 was negatively impacted by the ship hold and product removal actions associated with our U.S. CRM business.
The primary factor contributing to the reduction in our gross profit margin during 2010, as compared to 2009, was a decrease in sales of our higher-margin TAXUS® drug-eluting stent systems and an increasing shift towards the PROMUS® stent system during 2010, as well as declines in the average selling prices of drug-eluting stent systems. Sales of the PROMUS® stent system represented approximately 52 percent of our worldwide drug-eluting stent system sales in 2010, as compared to 40 percent in 2009. As a result of the terms of our supply arrangement with Abbott, the gross profit margin of a PROMUS® stent system, supplied to us by Abbott, is significantly lower than our internally-developed and manufactured TAXUS® stent system and PROMUS® Element™ everolimus-eluting stent system. Our gross profit margin in 2010 was also negatively impacted by the ship hold and product removal actions associated with our U.S. CRM business.
Operating Expenses
The following table provides a summary of certain of our operating expenses:

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Year Ended December 31,
 
 
2011
 
2010
 
2009
 
 
 
 
% of Net
 
 
 
% of Net
 
 
 
% of Net
(in millions)
 
$
 
Sales
 
$
 
Sales
 
$
 
Sales
Selling, general and administrative expenses
 
2,487

 
32.6
 
2,580

 
33.1
 
2,635

 
32.2
Research and development expenses
 
895

 
11.7
 
939

 
12.0
 
1,035

 
12.6
Royalty expense
 
172

 
2.3
 
185

 
2.4
 
191

 
2.3
Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) Expenses
In 2011, our SG&A expenses decreased $93 million, or four percent, as compared to 2010, and were 50 basis points lower as a percentage of net sales. Our SG&A expenses were lower in 2011, as compared to 2010, as a result of the sale of our Neurovascular business to Stryker in January 2011 and lower expenses due to our restructuring initiatives and cost containment discipline. In addition, our SG&A expenses for 2011 benefited from the reversal of $20 million of previously established allowances for doubtful accounts against long-outstanding receivables in Greece in 2011. These receivables had previously been fully reserved as we had determined that they had a high risk of being uncollectible due to the economic situation in Greece. During the first quarter of 2011, the Greek government converted these receivables into bonds, which we were able to monetize, reducing our allowance for doubtful accounts as a credit to SG&A expense. We continue to monitor the European economic environment for any collectibility issues related to our outstanding receivables in this region. These decreases were partially offset by the unfavorable impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, as well as additional SG&A expenses related to our recent acquisitions and global expansion initiatives.
In 2010, our SG&A expenses decreased $55 million, or two percent, as compared to 2009. This decrease was related primarily to savings from our restructuring initiatives driven by lower head count and lower consulting and travel spending, as compared to the prior year. These decreases were partially offset by an $11 million unfavorable impact from foreign currency fluctuations. As a percentage of net sales, our SG&A expenses were slightly higher than 2009 due to the impact of maintaining compensation levels for our U.S. CRM sales force, despite the reduction in net sales of our CRM products in the U.S.
Research and Development (R&D) Expenses
In 2011, our R&D expenses decreased $44 million, or five percent, as compared to 2010, and were 30 basis points lower as a percentage of net sales. The decrease in 2011 was due to the elimination of spending related to our Neurovascular business, cost reductions associated with our restructuring programs and the beginning benefits of our initiatives to transform our research and development efforts to be more effective and cost efficient; partially offset by increased R&D funding for our acquisitions and certain other priority growth initiatives. We remain committed to advancing medical technologies and investing in meaningful research and development projects across our businesses in order to maintain a healthy pipeline of new products that we believe will contribute to profitable sales growth.
In 2010, our R&D expenses decreased $96 million, or nine percent, as compared to 2009. This decrease was due to the on-going re-prioritization of R&D projects and the re-allocation of spending as part of our efforts to focus on products with higher returns, as well as the delay of certain of our clinical trials.
Royalty Expense
In 2011, our royalty expense decreased $13 million, or seven percent, as compared to 2010, and was slightly lower as a percentage of net sales. The decrease relates primarily to royalty expense attributable to Neurovascular products which was eliminated with the sale of our Neurovascular business in January 2011. These royalties represented $12 million of expense in 2010.
In 2010, our royalty expense decreased $6 million, or three percent, as compared to 2009. This decrease was due primarily to lower sales of our drug-eluting coronary stent systems, partially offset by the continued shift in the mix of our drug-eluting stent system sales towards the PROMUS® and PROMUS® Element™ stent systems. The royalty rate applied to sales of these stent systems is, on average, higher than that associated with sales of our TAXUS® stent systems.
Loss on Program Termination
In the second quarter of 2009, we discontinued one of our internal R&D programs in order to focus on those with a higher likelihood of success. As a result, we recorded a pre-tax loss of $16 million, in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 420, Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations, associated with future payments

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that we believe we remain contractually obligated to make. We do not believe that the cancellation of this program will have a material adverse impact on our future results of operations or cash flows.
Amortization Expense
Our amortization expense was $421 million in 2011, as compared to $513 million in 2010 a decrease of $92 million or 18 percent. This decrease was due primarily to certain intangible assets associated with our acquisition of Guidant Corporation in 2006 reaching the end of their useful lives during the second quarter of 2011. This non-cash charge is excluded by management for purposes of evaluating operating performance and assessing liquidity.
Amortization expense was $513 million in 2010, as compared to $511 million in 2009, an increase of $2 million, or less than one percent.
Goodwill Impairment Charges
2011 Charge
We test our April 1 goodwill balances during the second quarter of each year for impairment, or more frequently if indicators are present or changes in circumstances suggest that impairment may exist. Based on market information that became available to us toward the end of the first quarter of 2011, we concluded that there was a reduction in the estimated size of the U.S. ICD market, which led to lower projected U.S. CRM results compared to prior forecasts and created an indication of potential impairment of the goodwill balance attributable to our U.S. CRM business unit. Therefore, we performed an interim impairment test in accordance with U.S. GAAP and our accounting policies and recorded a non-deductible goodwill impairment charge of $697 million, on both a pre-tax and after-tax basis, associated with this business unit during the first quarter of 2011.
We used the income approach, specifically the discounted cash flow (DCF) method, to derive the fair value of the U.S. CRM reporting unit. We updated all aspects of the DCF model associated with the U.S. CRM business, including the amount and timing of future expected cash flows, terminal value growth rate and the appropriate market-participant risk-adjusted weighted average cost of capital (WACC) to apply.
As a result of physician reaction to study results published by the Journal of the American Medical Association regarding evidence-based guidelines for ICD implants and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations into hospitals’ ICD implant practices and the expansion of Medicare recovery audits, among other factors, we estimated the U.S. CRM market would experience negative growth rates in 2011, as compared to 2010. Due to these estimated near-term market reductions, as well as the economic impact of physician alignment to hospitals, recent demographic information released by the American Heart Association indicating a lower prevalence of heart failure, and increased competitive and other pricing pressures, we lowered our estimated average U.S. CRM net sales growth rates within our 15-year DCF model from the mid-single digits to the low-single digits. Partially offsetting these factors are increased levels of profitability as a result of cost-reduction initiatives and process efficiencies within the U.S. CRM business. The impact of the reduction in the size of the U.S. ICD market, and the related reduction in our forecasted 2011 U.S. CRM net sales, as well as the change in our expected sales growth rates thereafter as a result of the trends noted above were the key factors contributing to the first quarter 2011 goodwill impairment charge.
In the second quarter of 2011, we performed our annual goodwill impairment test for all of our reporting units. In conjunction with our annual test, the fair value of each reporting unit exceeded its carrying value, with the exception of our U.S. CRM reporting unit. Based on the remaining book value of our U.S. CRM reporting unit following the goodwill impairment charge recorded during the first quarter of 2011, the carrying value of our U.S. CRM reporting unit exceeded its fair value, due primarily to the value of amortizable intangible assets allocated to this reporting unit. The remaining book value of our U.S. CRM amortizable intangible assets was approximately $3.3 billion as of December 31, 2011. In accordance with ASC Topic 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other and our accounting policies, we tested our U.S. CRM amortizable intangible assets for impairment on an undiscounted cash flow basis as of March 31, 2011, in conjunction with the goodwill impairment charge, and determined that these assets were not impaired. The assumptions used in our annual goodwill impairment test performed during the second quarter of 2011 related to our U.S. CRM reporting unit were substantially consistent with those used in our first quarter interim impairment test; therefore, it was not deemed necessary to proceed to the second step of the impairment test.
We continue to identify four reporting units with a material amount of goodwill that are at higher risk of potential failure of the first step of the impairment test in future reporting periods. These reporting units include our U.S. CRM reporting unit, which holds $780 million of allocated goodwill; our U.S. Cardiovascular reporting unit, which holds $2.4 billion of allocated goodwill; our U.S. Neuromodulation reporting unit, which holds $1.3 billion of allocated goodwill; and our EMEA region, which holds $4.0 billion of allocated goodwill, each as of December 31, 2011. As of the most recent annual assessment as of April 1, the level of excess fair value over carrying value for these reporting units identified as being at higher risk (with the exception of the U.S.

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CRM reporting unit, whose carrying value continues to exceed its fair value) ranged from approximately eight percent to 15 percent. On a quarterly basis, we monitor the key drivers of fair value for these reporting units to detect events or other changes that would warrant an interim impairment test. The key variables that drive the cash flows of our reporting units are estimated revenue growth rates, levels of profitability and terminal value growth rate assumptions, as well as the WACC rate applied. These assumptions are subject to uncertainty, including our ability to grow revenue and improve profitability levels. For each of these reporting units, relatively small declines in the future performance and cash flows of the reporting unit or small changes in other key assumptions, including increases to the reporting unit carrying value, may result in the recognition of significant goodwill impairment charges. For example, keeping all other variables constant, a 50 basis point increase in the WACC applied to the reporting units, excluding acquisitions, would require that we perform the second step of the goodwill impairment test for our U.S. CRM reporting unit, and a 100 basis point increase would require that we perform the second step of the goodwill impairment test for our U.S. Neuromodulation, U.S. Cardiovascular and EMEA reporting units. In addition, keeping all other variables constant, a 100 basis point decrease in terminal value growth rates would require that we perform the second step of the goodwill impairment test for our U.S. CRM reporting unit, and a 200 basis point decrease in terminal value growth rates would require that we perform the second step of the goodwill impairment test for our U.S. Neuromodulation and EMEA reporting units. During the third and fourth quarters of 2011, we closely monitored these key variables and other factors and determined that we were not required to perform an interim impairment test. The estimates used for our future cash flows and discount rates represent management's best estimates, which we believe to be reasonable, but future declines in the business performance of our reporting units may impair the recoverability of our goodwill balance. Future events that could have a negative impact on the levels of excess fair value over carrying value of the reporting units include, but are not limited to:
decreases in estimated market sizes or market growth rates due to greater-than-expected declines in procedural volumes, pricing pressures, product actions, and/or disruptive technology developments;
declines in our market share and penetration assumptions due to increased competition, an inability to develop or launch new products, and market and/or regulatory conditions that may cause significant launch delays or product recalls;
the impacts of the European sovereign debt crisis, including greater-than-expected declines in pricing, reductions in procedural volumes, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, or an inability to collect or factor our EMEA accounts receivable;
decreases in our profitability due to an inability to successfully implement and achieve timely and sustainable cost improvement measures consistent with our expectations, increases in our market-participant tax rate, and/or changes in tax laws;
negative developments in intellectual property litigation that may impact our ability to market certain products or increase our costs to sell certain products;
the level of success of on-going and future research and development efforts, including those related to recent acquisitions, and increases in the research and development costs necessary to obtain regulatory approvals and launch new products;
the level of success in managing the growth of acquired companies, achieving sustained profitability consistent with our expectations, and establishing government and third-party payer reimbursement, and increases in the costs and time necessary to integrate acquired businesses into our operations successfully;
declines in revenue as a result of loss of key members of our sales force and other key personnel;
increases in our market-participant risk-adjusted WACC; and
changes in the structure of our business as a result of future reorganizations or divestitures of assets or businesses.
Negative changes in one or more of these factors could result in additional impairment charges.
2010 Charge
The ship hold and product removal actions associated with our U.S. ICD and CRT-D products, which we announced on March 15, 2010, and the forecasted corresponding financial impact on our operations created an indication of potential impairment of the goodwill balance attributable to our U.S. CRM reporting unit during the first quarter of 2010. Therefore, we performed an interim impairment test in accordance with U.S. GAAP and our accounting policies and recorded an estimated non-deductible goodwill impairment charge of $1.817 billion, on both a pre-tax and after-tax basis, associated with our U.S. CRM reporting unit.
At the time we performed our 2010 interim goodwill impairment test, we estimated that our U.S. defibrillator market share would decrease approximately 400 basis points exiting 2010 as a result of the ship hold and product removal actions, as compared to our

48

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market share exiting 2009, and that these actions would negatively impact our 2010 U.S. CRM revenues by approximately $300 million. In addition, we expected that our on-going U.S. CRM net sales and profitability would likely continue to be adversely impacted as a result of the ship hold and product removal actions. Therefore, as a result of these product actions, as well as lower expectations of market growth in new areas and increased competitive and other pricing pressures, we lowered our estimated average U.S. CRM net sales growth rates within our 15-year DCF model, as well as our terminal value growth rate, by approximately a couple of hundred basis points to derive the fair value of the U.S. CRM reporting unit. The reduction in our forecasted 2010 U.S. CRM net sales, the change in our expected sales growth rates thereafter and the reduction in profitability as a result of the recently enacted excise tax on medical device manufacturers were several key factors contributing to the impairment charge. Partially offsetting these factors was a 50 basis point reduction in our estimated market-participant risk-adjusted WACC used in determining our discount rate.
Goodwill impairment charges do not impact our debt covenants or our cash flows, and are excluded by management for purposes of evaluating operating performance and assessing liquidity.
Intangible Asset Impairment Charges
2011 Charges
During the third quarter of 2011, we recorded a $9 million intangible asset impairment charge attributable to lower projected cash flows associated with certain technologies. During the second quarter of 2011, we recorded a $12 million intangible asset impairment charge associated with changes in the timing and amount of expected cash flows related to certain purchased research and development projects. We do not believe that these impairments, or the factors causing these impairments, will have a material impact on our future operations or cash flows.
2010 Charges
During the first quarter of 2010, due to lower than anticipated net sales of one of our Peripheral Interventions technology offerings, as well as changes in our expectations of future market acceptance of this technology, we lowered our sales forecasts associated with the product. In addition, during the third quarter of 2010, as part of our initiatives to reprioritize and diversify our product portfolio, we discontinued one of our internal research and development programs to focus on those with a higher likelihood of success. As a result of these factors, and in accordance with U.S. GAAP and our accounting policies, we tested the related intangible assets for impairment and recorded a $60 million charge in the first quarter of 2010, and a $5 million charge in the third quarter of 2010 to write down the balance of these intangible assets to their fair value. We do not believe that these impairments, or the factors causing these impairments, will have a material impact on our future operations or cash flows.
2009 Charges
In 2009, we recorded intangible asset impairment charges of $12 million, associated primarily with lower than anticipated market penetration of one of our Urology technology offerings. We do not believe that these impairments will have a material impact on our future operations or cash flows.
These non-cash charges are excluded by management for purposes of evaluating operating performance and assessing liquidity.
Contingent Consideration Expense
In connection with certain of our acquisitions completed after our adoption of ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations, in 2009, we may be required to pay future consideration that is contingent upon the achievement of certain revenue-, regulatory- and commercialization-based milestones. As of the respective acquisition dates, we recorded contingent consideration liabilities representing the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration we expected to pay to the former shareholders of the acquired businesses. In accordance with ASC Topic 805, we re-measure these liabilities each reporting period and record changes in the fair value through a separate line item within our consolidated statements of operations. Increases or decreases in the fair value of the contingent consideration liability can result from accretion of the liability due to the passage of time, changes in the timing and amount of revenue estimates or changes in the expected probability and timing of achieving regulatory or commercialization milestones, changes in discount rates, and payments. We recorded net expense of $7 million during 2011 and expense of $2 million during 2010, representing the change in the estimated fair value of these obligations. The expense recorded during 2011 included a $20 million benefit related to the reduction in the fair value of a payment liability due to a revised estimate of the probability of achieving a future research and development milestone before a specified time period. We do not believe that this revised timing, or the factors causing the fair value adjustment of this contingent liability, will have a material impact on our future operations or cash flows.These acquisition-related charges are excluded by management for purposes of evaluating operating performance and assessing liquidity.

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Acquisition-related Milestone
In connection with Abbott Laboratories’ 2006 acquisition of Guidant’s vascular intervention and endovascular solutions businesses, Abbott agreed to pay us a milestone payment of $250 million upon receipt of an approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) to market the XIENCE V® stent system in Japan. The MHLW approved the XIENCE V® stent system in the first quarter of 2010 and we received the milestone payment from Abbott, which we recorded as a $250 million pre-tax gain. This non-recurring acquisition-related gain is excluded by management for purposes of evaluating operating performance.
Purchased Research and Development
During 2009, we recorded purchased research and development charges of $21 million, associated with entering certain licensing and development arrangements, in accordance with our accounting policies and U.S. GAAP. Since the technology purchases did not involve the transfer of processes or outputs as defined by ASC Topic 805, the transactions did not qualify as business combinations. See Note A - Significant Accounting Policies to our 2011 consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report for further discussion of our accounting for purchased research and development.
Restructuring Charges and Restructuring-related Activities
2011 Restructuring plan
On July 26, 2011, our Board of Directors approved, and we committed to, a restructuring initiative (the 2011 Restructuring plan) designed to strengthen operational effectiveness and efficiencies, increase competitiveness and support new investments, thereby increasing shareholder value. We estimate that the execution of the plan will reduce annual pre-tax operating expenses by approximately $225 million to $275 million exiting 2013, a portion of which will be reinvested in targeted areas necessary for future growth, including priority growth and emerging markets initiatives. Key activities under the plan include standardizing and automating certain processes and activities; relocating select administrative and functional activities; rationalizing organizational reporting structures; leveraging preferred vendors; and other efforts to eliminate inefficiency. Among these efforts, we are expanding our ability to deliver best-in-class global shared services for certain functions and divisions at several locations in emerging markets. This action is intended to enable us to grow our global commercial presence in key geographies and take advantage of many cost-reducing and productivity-enhancing opportunities. In addition, we are undertaking efforts to streamline various corporate functions, eliminate bureaucracy, increase productivity and better align corporate resources to our key business strategies. Activities under the 2011 Restructuring plan were initiated in the third quarter of 2011 and are expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2013.
We estimate that the 2011 Restructuring plan will result in total pre-tax charges of approximately $155 million to $210 million, and that approximately $150 million to $200 million of these charges will result in future cash outlays, of which we have made payments of $13 million to date. We have recorded related costs of $35 million since the inception of the plan, and are recording a portion of these expenses as restructuring charges and the remaining portion through other lines within our consolidated statements of operations.
The following provides a summary of our expected total costs associated with the plan by major type of cost:

Type of cost
Total estimated amount expected to
be incurred
Restructuring charges:
 
Termination benefits
$125 million to $150 million
Other (1)
$20 million to $40 million
Restructuring-related expenses:
 
Other (2)
$10 million to $20 million
 
$155 million to $210 million

(1)
Includes primarily consulting fees and costs associated with contractual cancellations.
(2)
Comprised of other costs directly related to the 2011 Restructuring plan, including program management, accelerated depreciation, retention and infrastructure-related costs.
2010 Restructuring plan
On February 6, 2010, our Board of Directors approved, and we committed to, a series of management changes and restructuring

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initiatives (the 2010 Restructuring plan) designed to focus our business, drive innovation, accelerate profitable revenue growth and increase both accountability and shareholder value. Key activities under the plan include the integration of our Cardiovascular and CRM businesses, as well as the restructuring of certain other businesses and corporate functions; the re-alignment of our international structure to reduce our administrative costs and invest in expansion opportunities including significant investments in emerging markets; and the re-prioritization and diversification of our product portfolio. We estimate that the execution of this plan will result in gross reductions in pre-tax operating expenses of approximately $200 million to $250 million, once completed. We expect to reinvest a portion of the savings into customer-facing and other activities to help drive future sales growth and support our businesses. Activities under the 2010 Restructuring plan were initiated in the first quarter of 2010 and are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2012.
We estimate that the 2010 Restructuring plan will result in total pre-tax charges of approximately $165 million to $185 million, and that approximately $150 million to $160 million of these charges will result in cash outlays, of which we have made payments of $140 million to date. We have recorded related costs of $159 million since the inception of the plan, and are recording a portion of these expenses as restructuring charges and the remaining portion through other lines within our consolidated statements of operations.
The following provides a summary of our expected total costs associated with the plan by major type of cost:

Type of cost
Total estimated amount expected to
be incurred
Restructuring charges:
 
Termination benefits
$95 million to $100 million
Fixed asset write-offs
$10 million to $15 million
Other (1)
$50 million to $55 million
Restructuring-related expenses:
 
Other (2)
$10 million to $15 million
 
$165 million to $185 million

(1)
Includes primarily consulting fees and costs associated with contractual cancellations.
(2)
Comprised of other costs directly related to the 2010 Restructuring plan, including accelerated depreciation and infrastructure-related costs.
Plant Network Optimization program
In January 2009, our Board of Directors approved, and we committed to, a Plant Network Optimization program, which is intended to simplify our manufacturing plant structure by transferring certain production lines among facilities and by closing certain other facilities. The program is a complement to our 2007 Restructuring plan, discussed below, and is intended to improve overall gross profit margins. We estimate that the program will result in annualized run-rate reductions of manufacturing costs of approximately $65 million exiting 2012. These savings are in addition to the $35 million of annual reductions of manufacturing costs expected from activities under our completed 2007 Restructuring plan. Activities under the Plant Network Optimization program were initiated in the first quarter of 2009 and are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2012.
We expect that the execution of the Plant Network Optimization program will result in total pre-tax charges of approximately $130 million to $145 million, and that approximately $110 million to $120 million of these charges will result in cash outlays, of which we have made payments of $70 million to date. We have recorded related costs of $124 million since the inception of the plan, and are recording a portion of these expenses as restructuring charges and the remaining portion through cost of products sold within our consolidated statements of operations. The following provides a summary of our estimates of costs associated with the Plant Network Optimization program by major type of cost:


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Type of cost
Total estimated amount expected to
be incurred
Restructuring charges:
 
Termination benefits
$35 million to $40 million
 
 
Restructuring-related expenses:
 
Accelerated depreciation
$20 million to $25 million
Transfer costs (1)
$75 million to $80 million
 
$130 million to $145 million

(1)
Consists primarily of costs to transfer product lines among facilities, including costs of transfer teams, freight, idle facility and product line validations.
2007 Restructuring plan
In October 2007, our Board of Directors approved, and we committed to, an expense and head count reduction plan (the 2007 Restructuring plan). The plan was intended to bring expenses in line with revenues as part of our initiatives to enhance short- and long-term shareholder value. The execution of this plan enabled us to reduce research and development and SG&A expenses by an annualized run rate of approximately $500 million exiting 2008. We have partially reinvested our savings from these initiatives into targeted head count increases, primarily in customer-facing positions. In addition, we expect reductions of manufacturing costs by an annualized run-rate of approximately $35 million as a result of transfers of certain production lines. Due to the longer term nature of the manufacturing-related initiatives, we do not expect to achieve the full benefit of these reductions in manufacturing costs until 2012. The execution of this plan is now completed and resulted in total pre-tax expenses of $427 million and required cash outlays of $380 million, of which we have paid $374 million to date.
We recorded restructuring charges pursuant to our restructuring plans of $89 million during 2011, $116 million during 2010, and $63 million during 2009. In addition, we recorded expenses within other lines of our accompanying consolidated statements of operations related to our restructuring initiatives of $40 million during 2011, $53 million during 2010, and $67 million during 2009.
The following presents these costs by major type and line item within our 2011 consolidated statements of operations included in Item 8 of this Annual Report, as well as by program:

Year Ended December 31, 2011
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(in millions)
Termination
Benefits
 
Retention
Incentives
 
Accelerated
Depreciation
 
Transfer
Costs
 
Fixed Asset
Write-offs
 
Other
 
Total
Restructuring charges
$
55

 

 

 

 

 
$
34

 
$
89

Restructuring-related expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of products sold

 

 
$
9

 
$
27

 

 

 
36

Selling, general and administrative expenses

 

 

 

 

 
4

 
4

 

 

 
9

 
27

 

 
4

 
40

 
$
55

 

 
$
9

 
$
27

 

 
$
38

 
$
129

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(in millions)
Termination
Benefits
 
Retention
Incentives
 
Accelerated
Depreciation
 
Transfer
Costs
 
Fixed Asset
Write-offs
 
Other
 
Total
2011 Restructuring plan
$
21

 

 


 


 

 
$
14

 
$
35

2010 Restructuring plan
24

 

 
$
1

 


 

 
24

 
49

Plant Network Optimization program
10

 

 
8

 
$
27

 

 

 
45

 
$
55

 

 
$
9

 
$
27

 

 
$
38

 
$
129

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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Year Ended December 31, 2010
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(in millions)
Termination
Benefits
 
Retention
Incentives
 
Accelerated
Depreciation
 
Transfer
Costs
 
Fixed Asset
Write-offs
 
Other
 
Total
Restructuring charges
$
70

 

 

 

 
$
11

 
$
35

 
$
116

Restructuring-related expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of products sold

 

 
$
7

 
$
41

 

 

 
48

Selling, general and administrative expenses

 

 

 

 

 
5

 
5

 

 

 
7

 
41

 

 
5

 
53

 
$
70

 

 
$
7

 
$
41

 
$
11

 
$
40

 
$
169

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(in millions)
Termination
Benefits
 
Retention
Incentives
 
Accelerated
Depreciation
 
Transfer
Costs
 
Fixed Asset
Write-offs
 
Other
 
Total
2010 Restructuring plan
$
66

 

 


 


 
$
11

 
$
33

 
$
110

Plant Network Optimization program
4

 

 
$
7

 
$
28

 

 

 
39

2007 Restructuring plan


 

 


 
13

 

 
7

 
20

 
$
70

 

 
$
7

 
$
41

 
$
11

 
$
40

 
$
169

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Year Ended December 31, 2009
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(in millions)
Termination
Benefits
 
Retention
Incentives
 
Accelerated
Depreciation
 
Transfer
Costs
 
Fixed Asset
Write-offs
 
Other
 
Total
Restructuring charges
$
34

 

 

 

 
$
13

 
$
16

 
$
63

Restructuring-related expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of products sold