BIG PHARMA EARNINGS WATCH: JOHNSON & JOHNSON

Big Pharma Giant Kicks Off Q3 Earnings After Hiking Prices More Than 40 Times This Year

This week, brand name drug giant Johnson & Johnson kicked off the first round of Big Pharma earnings calls for the third quarter of 2023. The company surpassed Wall Street analysts’ earnings and profit expectations after having hiked prices more than 40 times just so far this year.

Johnson & Johnson

• Johnson & Johnson reported profits and earnings that both beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations.
• The company brought in $21.35 billion in sales in the quarter and raised its earnings outlook for the year.
• The company’s pharmaceutical division brought in $13.89 billion.
• The pharmaceutical division’s strong performance was led by cancer drugs Stelara, which brought in $2.86 billion, as well Darzalex, which brought in just under $2.5 billion.

The strong earnings report comes as the Big Pharma giant has continued to price-gouge patients, with more than 30 price hikes in each of the last two years. Johnson & Johnson also has a history of engaging anti-competitive practices to block its blockbuster products from facing competition.

Johnson & Johnson

• Johnson & Johnson engaged in more than 40 price hikes in 2023.
• The Big Pharma manufacturer also hiked prices on nearly 30 prescription medications in 2022 – at an average rate of five percent.
• In January of 2021, the company hiked prices on more than 25 prescription drugs.
• Spending on the company’s blockbuster cancer drug Imbruvica is expected to exceed $41 billion between 2027-2036 thanks to an anti-competitive patent scheme that extended a monopoly on the high-priced cancer drug by more than nine years. Imbruvica costs an eye-popping $180,000 per year.
• Recently, Johnson & Johnson entered a settlement with fellow drug maker Amgen, to delay the entry of biosimilar competition to its blockbuster cancer drug Stelara until at least 2025.

Stay tuned as we continue to monitor third quarter earnings calls from brand name drug companies in the weeks ahead.

Learn more about solutions to lower prescription drug prices and hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.