The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a probe of the bile-duct stent market, trying to determine whether companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson improperly promoted the devices. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts has been subpoenaing stentmakers about their marketing practices, according to SEC filings. The companies have reported that Justice wants to know whether they've promoted the biliary stents for other uses, such as propping open leg arteries.

The U.S. Attorney's office wouldn't comment on the investigation, and the companies themselves wouldn't either, beyond saying that they're cooperating.

- read the Dow Jones story [1] at CNN Money

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