Medical device maker Medtronic Inc. said it received approval from European health regulators to sell a heart device that keeps arteries open.
Medtronic said it will immediately roll out in Europe, the Middle East and Asia — more than 40 countries in all — its Endeavor drug-eluting stent, a tiny, wire mesh tube coated with medicine that props open arteries during angioplasty procedures.
The medicine, which is licensed from Abbott Laboratories Inc., keeps the treated coronary arteries from reclogging, a common complication when traditional bare metal stents are used.
The worldwide market for drug-eluting stents is $5.5 billion and growing rapidly. Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific Corp. dominate the worldwide market for these devices, which have driven profits at both companies during the past year.