BRIEFLY / MEDICAL SERVICES : Regulators OK J&J;’s Breast Biopsy System

Johnson & Johnson said the Food and Drug Administration approved a hand-held version of its Mammotome system, a minimally invasive device that allows doctors to perform breast biopsies in their offices without need for surgery. The device is a more portable version of the original Mammotome breast biopsy system introduced in 1995, which is mounted to an imaging table and has been used for more than 375,000 breast biopsies in hospitals, clinics and breast-care centers, the Brunswick, N.J.-based health-care giant said. The system, which offers an alternative to open surgical biopsies, is made by Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. unit in Cincinnati. Procedures take less than an hour to perform and patients can then resume normal activities with a small bandage over the quarter-inch incision, J&J; said. The system will be available in the United States and overseas markets Sept. 20. Johnson & Johnson shares fell 75 cents to close at $101.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.