Medtronic Inc. received regulatory approval from Canada for use of the Endeavor drug-coated coronary stent system to treat coronary artery disease. The Fridley maker of biomedical devices said it plans to begin selling the Endeavor stent in Canada by the end of the month. As a condition of the approval, the company will provide Health Canada, the Canadian health department, with postmarket analysis of the product for five years. According to Medtronic, research shows its drug-coated stent provides a "consistent and sustained" reduction in the need for repeat procedures compared with a bare-metal stent.

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