Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) wholly owned firm Conor Medsystems LLCsaid, said on Monday that it will end clinical trials of its CoStar drug coated stent after it failed to meet its primary goal.

The Menlo Park, Calif unit said it will also end sales of the stent, which props open recently unclogged heart arteries, through partners in Europe, Asia, and Latin America where it has been already approved.

The firm said the trial did not identify safety issues. Rates of death, myocardial infarction and stent thrombois were consistent with other relevant drug-coated stent studies, it said.

The firm said the study didn't identify any safety issues with the drug.

The CoStar II study compared the CoStar stent with the Taxus Express - 2 paclitaxel drug-eluting stent, which had been designed to demonstrate "non-inferiority.'

The company also said will also not conclude its submission of the pre-market approval application for the product with the Food and Drug Administration.

Medicine