Pictured: Johnson & Johnson Sign in Silicon Valley/Shutterstock, Michael Vi

Johnson & Johnson exceeded Wall Street expectations in its second quarter performance. The healthcare products giant posted sales of $25.5 billion in its earnings report on Thursday.

Worldwide sales numbers reflected a 6.3% growth for J&J with revenue close to $1 billion higher than analysts expected, thanks in particular to a nearly 10% increase in its medtech sales. Medtech has been on the rebound since patients have returned to non-emergent surgeries like knee and hip replacements, which saw a significant drop during the pandemic.

Operational sales for the company’s pharma arm, suffering growth points due to dwindling COVID-19 vaccine sales, was up 3.9%. The second quarter posted no U.S. sales of J&J’s COVID vaccine, with no domestic revenue expected beyond the $747 million from outside the U.S. reported last quarter. Its government contracts are now complete.

Primary growth drivers were J&J’s oncology and immunology drugs. The company’s multiple myeloma portfolio has grown more than 30%, CEO Joaquin Duato said on Thursday’s earnings call.

Duato put out a 2025 sales target of $57 billion for its pharma business.

J&J’s top earning drug Stelara was in a precarious position with its loss of exclusivity set for later this year. However, the company reached settlement agreements with both Amgen as well as Alvotech and Teva to delay biosimilars of its blockbuster psoriasis and arthritis treatment from reaching the market.

“We expect Amgen to launch in the U.S. on January 1, 2025, and Alvotech to launch in the U.S. on February 21, 2025,” Duato said.

Potential approvals coming down the line in the U.S. and EU include a dual action tablet for castration-resistant prostate cancer already approved in Europe, a relapsed/refractory  multiple myeloma drug, a treatment for pediatric HIV and one for difficult to treat hypertension.

Reporting higher-than-expected earnings in the second quarter, the company’s operational sales guidance for 2023 has also been raised. J&J increased the 2023 full-year guidance  to $98.8 billion to $99.8 billion from prior guidance of $97.9 billion to $98.9 billion, driven by cancer drugs and medical devices. J&J’s stock was up about 5% in early trading Thursday, while remaining about 10% down year to date.

“We are excited to enter the back half of the year from a position of strength, and we have high expectations as we evolve to two-sector Johnson and Johnson with a higher growth profile,” Duato said.

J&J intends to split off shares it holds of its consumer health unit, Kenvue, through an exchange offer as its next step of separation. As of now, J&J owns 89.6% of total outstanding shares.

On Thursday’s call, CFO Joseph Wolk called it the “most advantageous form of separation for Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue and our shareholders.”

Source: bioSpace.com