Jan. 12--Boston Scientific is finally seeing the light at the end of the endoscope.

The Bay State medical device giant is predicting strong profit growth as cost cutting kicks in and new products hit hospitals and doctor's offices.

"I think Boston Scientific, quite candidly, is better positioned than it has been in some years for achieving our aspirational goal of double-digit earnings per share growth over the next several years," interim CEO Hank Kucheman said yesterday at a health care conference in San Francisco.

He touted plans for 24 product launches in the next 12 months, expansion in emerging markets such as China, and savings from a restructuring that will slice up to 1,400 jobs by the end of next year.

"This effort is well under way, and it's being executed very effectively," Kucheman told investors who saw the Natick firm's stock price tumble 29 percent to under $6 in 2011.

Kucheman highlighted new stents and a "major overhaul" of the pacemaker platform in a push to "take share" in the $4 billion market, plus the sales potential of a treatment for patients with severe asthma.

"We're the only player in town ... with a medical device solution," he said of the FDA-approved "bronchial thermoplasty system."

The company is also focused on devices that could curb medical costs. "I believe that's going to be an increasingly important part of innovation," Kucheman said.

(c)2012 the Boston Herald

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