Johnson & Johnson's Pharma Sector Poised for Growth, 10 New Product Filings Expected by 2017

Johnson & Johnson anticipates submitting more than 10 new product filings and more than 25 significant brand line extensions by 2017; the announcement was made at a recent meeting with industry analysts. Upcoming new products include simeprevir for hepatitis C (already filed in Japan, Europe and the US); ibrutinib and daratumumab for haematologic malignancies; sirukumab and guselkumab for diseases of the immune system such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis; and vaccines for influenza, rabies and polio.

With a unique model of innovation, the company’s pharmaceuticals division, Janssen, which accounts for 38% of the company’s annual sales, has built a robust pipeline with 11 products launched since 2009, more than doubling its productivity during the past four years. The new products, coupled with core growth brands, have fueled 12 consecutive quarters of operational sales growth in the segment and contributed significantly to the company's recent earnings growth.

Paul Stoffels, M.D., chief scientific officer of Johnson & Johnson and worldwide chairman of the pharmaceuticals group, attributed the strong growth to the company’s investment in transformational innovation, which is believed to have revitalized Janssen’s product portfolio and enabled the company to continue investing in near- and long-term compounds in immunology, neuroscience, infectious diseases and vaccines, cardiovascular and metabolism, and oncology.

"With a steadfast focus on the most serious unmet medical needs, our approach is to identify the best science — internal and external — to deliver new options and solutions to patients. Today, we have an industry-leading pipeline of truly differentiated products and a track record of success resulting in more new molecular entity (NME) approvals per year at a lower development cost than the industry average," Stoffels said in a press release.

“We’ve spent the past five years transforming our business, and the growth we’re seeing today is the direct impact of that effort,” said Joaquin Duato, worldwide chairman of the pharmaceuticals group. “The innovative new therapies in our pipeline will drive our next wave of growth. With strong momentum across our global pharmaceuticals segment, we are executing well against our commercial strategy to gain market share and ensure greater access to our medicines. We’re also strengthening our presence in critical geographies and have nearly doubled our footprint in emerging markets during the last five years.”

IMS Health projected that the total global pharmaceuticals market would grow approximately 4.5% per annum and hit an estimated market size of $1.2 trillion by 2017. According to IMS Health, the pharmaceuticals business of Johnson & Johnson was the fastest growing in Japan, Europe and the US in 2012, with sales of $25.4 billion, an operational increase of nearly 7% versus 2011. The first quarter of 2013 continues to see strong sales growth for the pharmaceuticals segment, with worldwide sales of $6.8 billion, an operational increase of more than 11% compared to the previous year. Emerging markets, including Brazil, Russia, India and China, comprised nearly 20% of worldwide pharmaceutical sales in the first quarter of 2013.

Janssen plans to continue accelerating its development stage pipeline in Japan and China. Janssen already has three NMEs and three brand line extensions in registration in Japan, with filings for two additional NMEs and six brand line extensions expected by 2017. In China, four NMEs and four line extensions are currently in registration, with filings expected for nine NMEs and six brand line extensions by 2017.