Johnson & Johnson’s Major Developments in 2Q15
An Investor’s Guide to Johnson & Johnson's 2Q15 Earnings
Major developments
As we’ve already seen, Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) 2Q15 segment-wise performance was positive for its Consumer Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals segments. Next, we’ll look at Johnson & Johnson’s major developments in 2Q15.
Pharmaceuticals segment
The Pharmaceuticals segment reported the following major developments in 2Q15:
Johnson & Johnson submitted to the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) a Biologic License Application (or BLA) for daratumumab to treat multiple myeloma, a type of cancer.
The European Commission approved Imbruvica for the treatment of Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia, a type of lymphoma; Stelara for psoriasis, a type of autoimmune disease affecting the skin; and Simponi for non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis, a type of arthritis.
The FDA approved Inveza Trinza, a new drug for the treatment of schizophrenia, a type of mental disorder. It’s the first and only treatment taken four times a year for schizophrenia.
Johnson & Johnson entered a collaboration with Achillion Pharmaceuticals for the development of drugs for the treatment of the Hepatitis C virus.
Medical Devices segment
Johnson & Johnson accepted the binding offer from Cardinal Health (CAH) to acquire Cortis, its cardiology and endovascular company, for ~$1.9 billion. Cortis operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. For 2014, Cortis reported ~$780 million in revenues, with more than 70% sales from outside the US markets.
JNJ will now focus on the cardiovascular business through Biosense Webster, JNJ’s electrophysiology business in the Medical Devices segment.
JNJ competes with Pfizer (PFE), Merck & Co. (MRK), Novartis AG (NVS), and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on various products. Investors can consider ETFs like the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which holds ~9.7% of its total investments in Johnson & Johnson.
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