The health care giant is saying its fourth-quarter results will include a special after-tax, non-cash charge from a write-down related to a decline in sales of acute heart failure drug Natrecor, which has been something of an acute failure itself. The move was disclosed in an Securities and Exchange Commission filing late today (look at this).

A J&J spokesman Bill Price tells Reuters that indications for Natrecor will no longer be pursued beyond the current population of patients with acutely decompensated heart failure. J&J says the charge was due to revised estimates of future cash flows, reflecting a recent decline in Natrecor sales trends, although its Scios unit will continue to market the med.

The heart-failure drug has been controversial for a couple of years and J&J’s Scios unit has been under pressure to refute reports that the med is dangerous, especially after links to kidney damage and deaths. Sales declined and there were charges of inappropriate marketing (here’s one example). And results released earlier this year at the American College of Cardiology were a mixed bag - a 920-patient study didn’t find new safety concerns, but Natrecor didn’t help many patients with severe disease who were treated outside a hospital. In other words, no clinical benefit. Not a strong selling point.