The oncology franchise carried growth for Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter and continues to increase its prominence for J&J’s pharmaceuticals business overall. But some of the cancer growth will be dimmed by potential generic competition to its prostate cancer blockbuster Zytiga.
While Zytiga comprises about 5% of J&J’s pharmaceutical sales, according to a Morningstar estimate, J&J reported its pharma segment growth still would have been roughly 6.6% without the product during the third quarter, instead of 8.2%. But it was also a major contributor to oncology franchise growth, and J&J did not clarify what that growth picture will look like without Zytiga
The cancer business led the way for pharmaceuticals, with 36.4% growth year-over-year to $2.59bn. Other franchises within the pharmaceutical segment posted growth below 4% or declined from third quarter 2017. Immunology grew 3.9% to $3.99bn, pulmonary hypertension rose 3.8% to $656m and infectious disease sales increased 1.2% to $823m