The way things are going, Cordis will need a different kind of stent to prop up its business. The latest departure is Todd Pope, worldwide president of Cordis, who left yesterday, according to an investor note by Larry Biegelsen, an analyst at Wachovia Capital Markets. He points out that Pope had responsibility for nearly all Cordis activities, and a replacement hasn’t been announced.

This marks the seventh senior Cordis person to recently leave or announce plans to leave, Biegelsen adds. Let’s keep track - Rick Anderson, Cordis company group chairman; David Kandazri, chief medical officer; Mark Valentine, vp of sales; Brian Firth, vp of health economics and his replacement, Liesl Cooper; and Denis Donohue, vp of clinical affairs will leave this summer. Sales rep turnover is also high.

“Although expectations among investors for Cordis’ stent franchise are low, we view these significant changes at Cordis as an underappreciated near-term risk for Cordis’ business and a potential opportunity for its competitors - Abbott, Medtronic and Boston Scientific - to capitalize on,” he writes.