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Company:	Guidant Corporation
Ticker Symbol:	NYSE: GDT
Class Period:	June 23, 1999 to June 12, 2003
Court:	Southern District, IN
Date Filed:	Jun-16-03
Lead Plaintiff Deadline:	Aug-12-03
Allegations:

A class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Guidant Corporation ("Guidant" or the "Company") (NYSE:GDT) between June 23, 1999 and June 12, 2003 (the "Class Period") and who suffered damages thereby.

The action, numbered 03 CV 0887 (LJM) (WTL), is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana against defendants Guidant, Endovascular Technologies, Inc. ("EVT"), Keith E. Brauer, Ronald W. Dollens and Jay Watkins. The complaint charges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market between June 23, 1999 and June 12, 2003.

Guidant designs, develops, manufactures and markets therapeutic medical devices for the treatment of cardiovascular and vascular diseases, including the ANCURE ENDOGRAFT System, a medical device used to treat aneurysms. The complaint alleges that, during the Class Period, Guidant failed to disclose the following facts, among others: (a) in violation of Food & Drug Administration ("FDA") regulations, the Company encouraged a dangerous usage of the ANCURE ENDOGRAFT System that had not been authorized by the FDA; (b) the Company failed to file 2,628 Medical Device reports - each representing an incident in which the ANCURE ENDOGRAFT System malfunctioned or its use was associated with death or serious injury; © as a result of the foregoing conduct, the Company was the target of a criminal investigation; and (d) the Company had not properly reserved for the consequences of its massive criminal and civil liability nor adjusted its recorded goodwill to account for the inevitable harm to its reputation that would ensue.

The Class Period ends on June 12, 2003. On that date, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that EVT, Guidant's wholly owned subsidiary, had pled guilty to 10 felonies and agreed to pay $94.4 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it covered up thousands of incidents, including 12 deaths and 57 emergency procedures, in which the ANCURE ENDOGRAFT System malfunctioned.

If you acquired the securities of Guidant during the Class Period you may, no later than August 12, 2003, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff through counsel of your choice. You may also choose to remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff must meet certain requirements.

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