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                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                               -------------------




                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

        Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): MARCH 12, 1999



                               NOVOSTE CORPORATION
               (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)



                FLORIDA                   0-20727                59-2787476
(State or other jurisdiction of   (Commission File Number)     (IRS Employer
        incorporation)                                       Identification No.)

3890 STEVE REYNOLDS BLVD., NORCROSS, GA                              30093
(Address of principal executive offices)                           (Zip Code)

       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (770) 717-0904





                                 NOT APPLICABLE
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)



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ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS.


         On March 12, 1999, Novoste Corporation (the "Registrant") issued a
press release announcing its intention to increase the number of patients
anticipated to be enrolled in the stent subgroup of the Beta-Cath System Trial 
thereby delaying the projected completion of the trial. This trial is one of
the two pivotal clinical trials being conducted by the Registrant to support
anticipated applications to the FDA for pre-market approval to sell the 
Registrant's Beta-Cath System in the United States. A copy of the press release
is attached hereto as Annex A and incorporated herein.



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                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                                            Novoste Corporation
                                            (Registrant)


                                            By: /s/ David N. Gill
                                                -----------------------
                                                David N. Gill
                                                Chief Financial Officer

Dated:  March 12, 1999


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                                                                         ANNEX A

 


            Press Release of Novoste Corporation dated March 12, 1999







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                                                                         ANNEX A

            Novoste to Increase Enrollment in Beta-Cath System Trial

NORCROSS, Ga.--March 12, 1999--

                START Trial on Schedule for Enrollment Completion

Novoste Corporation (Nasdaq:NOVT) announced today that it is on track to 
complete enrollment of 1,100 patients into the Beta-Cath(TM) System Trial by 
the end of this month.

However, the Company now plans to increase patient enrollment in the stent 
subgroup of the trial by up to 300 patients pending FDA approval. The planned 
increase is a result of a recommendation made by the Data Safety and Monitoring 
Board (DSMB) after its regularly scheduled meeting held during the American 
College of Cardiology scientific sessions in New Orleans earlier this week. The 
DSMB is an independent committee of clinicians and statisticians that have 
responsibility for review of the study protocol and clinical events on regular 
intervals during patient enrollment into the trial.

Based on the review of the currently available data set, the DSMB proposed 
increasing patient enrollment in the stent subgroup to demonstrate the safety 
and effectiveness of the Beta-Cath System Trial with the revised anti-platelet 
therapy protocol implemented in November 1998 to address potential stent 
thrombosis concerns. The trial protocol was modified for the stent subgroup to 
extend the anti-platelet therapy from two weeks to 60 days and to provide for 
additional follow-up contact with these patients in the few months after 
treatment. The Company expects that patient enrollment into the Beta-Cath 
System Trial will now be finished by mid-year 1999.

Novoste remains on track with its Stents And Radiation Trial (START) which is 
designed to determine the safety and effectiveness of vascular brachytherapy in 
treating "in-stent restenosis." The treatment of in-stent restenosis poses a 
difficult challenge to cardiologists because the likelihood of a recurrent 
restenosis in previously stented patients is significantly higher than in the 
general angioplasty or stent population, and currently there are no therapies 
which effectively treat in-stent restenosis other than bypass surgery. As 
previously communicated, Novoste expects to enroll approximately 386 patients 
into this trial by the second quarter of 1999, of which 299 patients have 
already been accrued. The data analysis center for both trials, the 
Cardiovascular Data Analysis Center (CDAC), has reviewed the data to date and 
reported to the Company that there are no similar stent thrombosis issues in 
the START Trial.

William A. Hawkins, President of Novoste, remarked, "We remain committed to
filing our PMA application with the FDA in a timely fashion. Because changes to
the Beta-Cath System Trial do not affect the START Trial, we expect to complete
enrollment in the START Trial as scheduled during the second quarter of 1999,
prior to completion of enrollment in the Beta-Cath System Trial. The results of
the START trial are now expected to be the basis of our initial PMA filing which
Novoste expects to file during the second quarter of 2000. We expect to file an
amendment to our PMA application during the third quarter of 2000 to seek
approval for the clinical indications being investigated in the Beta-Cath System
Trial, or reduction of coronary restenosis following either angioplasty or first
time stent placement."

Commenting on the trial modifications, Dr. Richard E. Kuntz, the Principal 
Investigator of the Beta-Cath System Trial, said, "We believe the decision to 
expand the stent subgroup of the Beta-Cath System Trial is a positive change to 
the protocol. We continue to optimize vascular brachytherapy over time, as is 
typical with new technologies."

Novoste Corporation is a leader in the emerging field of vascular brachytherapy 
for the treatment of restenosis. Brachytherapy is radiation therapy which is 
administered with a radioactive source placed in or near the target tissue. 
For more information on the Company, please call Investor Relations at Novoste 
at (770) 717-0904 or visit the Company's website, http://www.novoste.com.

The forward looking statements included in this news release, which reflect 
management's best judgment based on factors currently known, involve risks and 
uncertainties including the demonstration of safety and efficacy of the 
Beta-Cath System, receipt of regulatory approvals, speed of patient enrollment, 
and other risks detailed in documents filed by Novoste with the SEC, including 
forms 10-K and 10-Q.

CONTACT: Novoste Corp., Norcross
Cheryl R. Johnson, 770/717-0904