BIG PHARMA EARNINGS WATCH: JOHNSON & JOHNSON

Big Pharma Giant Kicks Off Q1 Earnings By Boasting “Strategic Price Increases Across All Franchises” Fueled Expectations Beat

Last week, Johnson & Johnson kicked off the first round of Big Pharma earnings reports for the first quarter of 2023. After brand name drug companies hiked prices on nearly 600 prescription drugs to start the year, Big Pharma continues to surpass earnings expectations while growing sales and posting massive profits. Johnson & Johnson reported Q1 earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street analysts’ forecasts, prompting the pharmaceutical giant to raise its full-year sales and earnings outlook.

• Johnson & Johnson’s first-quarter earnings and revenue came in ahead of Wall Street expectations, reporting strong growth in their pharmaceutical sector.
• The Big Pharma giant’s sales increased to $24.75 billion in Q1, up 5.6 percent year-over-year.
• Pharmaceutical sales increased 2 percent worldwide, primarily driven by Johnson & Johnson’s multiple myeloma treatment Darzalex and blockbuster inflammatory disease treatment Stelara.
• The drugmaker reported pharmaceutical sales of $13.4 billion, up more than four percent year-over-year.
• Johnson & Johnson expects full-year revenue to reach $98 billion – about $1 billion above the company’s previous estimate in January.

Johnson & Johnson’s better-than-expected earnings come as the company has continued to hike prices on the prescription drugs in their portfolio.

• According to Jessica Moore, Vice President of Investor Relations for Johnson & Johnson, the company’s blockbuster earnings report was “primarily driven by global strategic price increases across all franchises.”
• Johnson & Johnson began 2023 by hiking prices on more than 40 prescription drugs– at an average rate of five percent.
• This year, the Big Pharma company increased prices on their pulmonary arterial hypertension drug Opsumit by eight percent and multiple sclerosis drug Ponvory by seven percent.
• In January 2022, the company hiked prices on more than 30 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.

Stay tuned as we continue to monitor earnings calls from Big Pharma for Q1 of 2023 over the next few weeks.

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