Johnson & Johnson braces for Q3 sales dip as generics bite
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has warned that strong competition from generic drugs could impact the company’s figures for the rest of the year.
Following the release of its second-quarter results on Tuesday July 16, the company’s pharma division reported a sales increase of 1.4% to $10.5 billion on the previous year.
But sales of its prostate cancer treatment, Zytiga, fell 23% in the first quarter following its patent expiry and competition from generics.
Additionally, sales of its arthritis drug Remicade fell by 16% due to biosimilar rivals entering the market.
Chief financial officer, Joseph Wolk, told Reuters that the company expects “the largest impacts from generics and biosimilars for the year in our pharmaceutical business to occur in the third quarter”.
The company said that once a drug begins facing competition from multiple generic versions, it can lose more than 80% of sales.
Following the publication of the second-quarter results, J&J’s shares fell by 1.4% in noon trading.
Earlier this year, J&J was ordered to pay $190 million in litigation over its talc products.
The company also faces multiple UK lawsuits involving over 14,000 customers who allege that use of its talc products, including Baby Powder, caused cancer.
However, J&J executives told Reuters the suits did not affect its second-quarter results.
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