Small heart-device developer Xtent Inc. (XTNT) laid off nearly all of its workers this week as planned, scaling down to a small crew of senior officials and other key people to save money as it pursues a financial or strategic deal.

The company gained European clearance just last week for its "Custom NX" heart stent, but it has long said it would need additional cash to produce and market the device. The company warned two months ago that it would have to lay off nearly all of its 121 workers if it didn't obtain financing or work out some other deal, and the European approval - while helpful - didn't come soon enough to stave off the move.

"Since that just happened we have been flooded with interest, but until I can ensure that I have the runway necessary to take advantage of this on our own" or as part of another company, "that's just a burn that I can't afford to take on right now," company Chief Executive Gregory Casciaro said in an interview Thursday.

Shares of Xtent, which debuted in an initial public offering in early 2007 at $16, closed Thursday unchanged at 70 cents a share.

Coronary stents are tiny devices used to prop open clogged heart arteries, and devices like Xtent's use medication to stop vessels from closing off again. Xtent's system differs from current technology because it involves a very long stent that can be cut to size while inside the vessel and deployed in different areas. The company's studies have targeted patients with complex problems.

Xtent, like some other companies, licenses its drug coating from Biosensors International Group Ltd. (B20.SG).

Casciaro said Xtent could very well bring back workers, many of whom have expressed such an interest, if it reaches a deal that allows the company to rebuild its roster. He also expressed confidence that something will come together.

"It's not over," he said. "This is a chapter."

The big stent makers are Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Medtronic Inc. (MDT).

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