Premier Inc., a huge U.S. hospital purchasing group, said Thursday that it has signed new agreements for drug-coated stent heart devices with Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).

The tiny devices prop open clogged arteries, use medication to fight renarrowing and represent a roughly $2 billion domestic market. Owned by non-profit hospitals, Premier runs a purchasing network that serves more than 2,100 U.S. hospitals and 53,000 other health care sites.

The group's 13-month agreements with the two stent makers became effective Jan. 1 this year. Premier said the agreements are available to its "acute care" and "continuum of care" members.

The stent franchises at Abbott and J&J have moved in opposite directions in recent months. J&J is the sector's pioneer, having rolled out the first coated stent domestically in 2003. Abbott only entered the U.S. market last summer, but its "Xience" stent quickly vaulted to a market-leading position while taking business from older devices, including J&J's "Cypher" stent.

Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) and Medtronic Inc. (MDT) are the other two major stent makers

-By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 617-654-6728; jon.kamp@dowjones.com