Robust Drug Sales for Johnson & Johnson

Turning to the strength in the quarter, the drug unit continues to post gains led by immunology drug Stelara as well as cancer drugs Imbruvica, Darzalex, and Zytiga, but we expect growth will slow for some of these drugs over the next year. While Stelara’s new indication in Crohn’s disease is driving sales, we expect new competition in psoriasis will slow the drug’s total growth. In oncology, Imbruvica and Darzalex look well-positioned for growth in CLL and multiple myeloma, respectively, as the targeted patient population should grow based on expected successful outcomes in new studies. However, we expect Zytiga will face generic competition in October. On J&J’s largest drug, Remicade, we expect an acceleration from the 11% quarterly decline as biosimilar competition intensifies this year.

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