J&J to Stop Selling Costar

Johnson & Johnson announced it will stop selling its Costar II stent worldwide, and cease seeking FDA approval for it, after trials showed it performed worse than a competitor, reports Bloomberg News. Costar became a J&J product after it acquired Conor Medsystems and the move is a major short-term blow. A head-to-head trial against Boston Scientific's Taxus showed that 11% of patients on Costar had a heart attack, needed a repeat procedure, or died within eight months, vs. 6.9% for Taxus.