Johnson & Johnson, Inc. (NYSE:JNJ) discussed its future plans and showcased a strong pipeline of transformational medicines at a meeting held yesterday with industry analysts.
J&J intends to seek approval for 10 new products between 2017 and 2021. The company said that each of these products have blockbuster potential. Also, the company is targeting more than 50 line extensions of existing and new drugs as well.
Shares of Johnson & Johnson closed at $126.67 on Wednesday, down 0.86%, amid a broader decline in the stock market. Moreover, the company’s shares are up 10% so far this year, outperforming the Zacks Classified Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, which has increased 8.2% in the same time frame.
Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson also said it expects approval and launch of its two pipeline candidates this year - guselkumab for psoriasis and sirukumab for rheumatoid arthritis. Both the candidates are under review in the U.S. and EU.
The acquisition of Swiss-based biotech company Actelion, which is expected to be closed this quarter, will diversify Johnson & Johnson’s revenue stream to include pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) category.
The drugmaker has a record of making blockbuster drugs. The company’s immunology drugs like Remicade generated $1.7 billion in sales in the first quarter of 2017 while Stelara recorded $823 million. Blood thinner Xarelto recorded sales of $513 million in the same period. The company recorded total drug sales of $8.2 billion in the quarter.
However, the company is facing a slowdown in its pharmaceutical product sales. The Pharma segment is expected to see slower growth in 2017 as a number of key growth drivers like Remicade (rheumatoid arthritis) and Concerta (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) are facing competition.
Remicade is facing biosimilar competition in Europe since Feb 2015 while Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) launched a biosimilar in the U.S. in Nov 2016.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Johnson & Johnson currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A couple of better-ranked medical stocks are VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) and Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATB) . Vivus sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while Catabasis carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Vivus’ loss per share estimates narrowed 22% to 39 cents for 2017 over the last 60 days. The company posted positive surprises in all the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 233.69%.
Catabasis’ loss per share estimates narrowed 13% to $1.61 for 2017 over the last 60 days. The company posted positive earnings surprises in all the four trailing quarters, with an average beat of 8.65%.
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Pfizer, Inc. (PFE): Free Stock Analysis Report
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report
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