APPLYING AGAIN: Health giant Johnson & Johnson already has applied to the Food and Drug Administration to be able to sell Xarelto, its clot-preventing drug approved last July, for a fifth use, in patients with heart stents.
SO FAR: Xarelto, part of a new class of blood thinners, is approved for reducing risk of blood clots after knee- or hip-replacement surgery and in patients with a type of irregular heartbeat. Approval is pending for two other uses.
SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY: J&J has pushed sales of some drugs into the billions of dollars by getting approvals for many conditions and patient groups.
