Preview Newsletter
talc 4/20
-
Johnson & Johnson Rides Strong Prescription Sales in 1Q
Apr 19, 2016 | Associated Press
By Linda A. Johnson
...A Missouri jury in February awarded $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who died from ovarian cancer blamed on J&J's baby powder, and at least 1,200 other cases are pending. -
How to use talcum powder safely
Apr 19, 2016 | The Telegraph
By Imelda Burke
It's high time you threw away the talc. A recent ruling by a US judge awarded the family of an American woman who died of ovarian cancer $72 million in compensation. The woman had used talc as a bathroom staple for decades and although various studies linking talc directly to ovarian cancer remain inconclusive, the ruling was based on evidence of an internal memo from a Johnson & Johnson medical consultant. -
J&J to relaunch baby brand as millennials go organic
Apr 19, 2016 | Financial Times
By David Crow and Lindsay Whipp
...In February, the company was ordered by a state jury in Missouri to pay $72m in damages to the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was linked to several decades of use of the company’s baby powder and another of its talc-based products.
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
US Coverage
EMEA Coverage
Full Text of Stories Below
-
Johnson & Johnson Rides Strong Prescription Sales in 1Q
Apr 19, 2016 | Associated Press
By Linda A. Johnson
Johnson & Johnson beat Wall Street expectations despite flat first-quarter profit, as higher sales of new prescription drugs and other key medicines couldn't quite offset another hit from the strong dollar and other issues.
However, the world's biggest maker of health care products cheered investors Tuesday by raising its forecasts for the year. Shares rose $1.97 to $112.90 in midday trading.
J&J posted net income of $4.29 billion, or $1.54 per share. The maker of Band-Aids, prescription medicines and medical devices reported adjusted profit, which excludes one-time items, of $1.68 per share, easily beating analysts' expectations for $1.64 per share.
Lower sales, marketing and administrative expenses largely drove the earnings beat, Credit-Suisse analyst Vamil Divan wrote to investors.
The New Brunswick, New Jersey, company had revenue of $17.48 billion, up 0.6 percent and $60 million above Street forecasts.
"It was a good quarter for the company," with continued "very impressive" results for the key prescription drug business, said Edward Jones analyst Ashtyn Evans.
J&J expects by 2019 to launch nine new products that each could produce $1 billion in annual sales. Last year, it launched Darzalex, a potential blockbuster that's the first antibody-based drug for the blood cancer multiple myeloma.
Other segments aren't doing as well. The medical device business is reorganizing, and its sales fell 2.4 percent to $6.11 billion, after last year's sale of the Cordis heart devices unit.
The consumer health business saw operational declines in four of its six categories even excluding the strong dollar. J&J blamed the mild flu season and Venezuela's currency devaluation, but Evans said they don't explain the drops.
"They may not ever get back to where they were," Evans said, on market share of nonprescription medicines such as pain relievers Tylenol and Motrin before dozens of product recalls beginning in 2009 kept products out of stores for years.
For instance, J&J said market share for adult pain relievers is up to 14 percent, versus 26 percent in 2009, and pediatric analgesics have a 46 percent market share, versus 72 percent in 2009. J&J had to gut and rebuild its main U.S. factory for those, and it's still under extra scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration.
Like other multinational companies, J&J has been squeezed for a couple of years by unfavorable currency exchange rates, which reduce the value of products bought in local currencies. However, the first quarter's 3.3 percent hit is well below the 7 percent impact a year ago, one reason for the higher 2016 financial forecast, Chief Financial Officer Dominic Caruso told analysts on a conference call.
J&J raised its January profit forecast by a dime, to a range of $6.53 to $6.68 per share, and hiked its revenue forecast by $400 million, to $71.2 billion to $71.9 billion.
"We carried last year's momentum into 2016," Caruso said, adding, "Underlying (sales) growth was a very strong 7 percent," after excluding acquisitions, divestitures and the 86 percent plunge in hepatitis C drug Olysio's sales, to just $32 million in the quarter.
That once-lucrative drug is being crushed by newer rivals such as Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Harvoni, which is raking in billions every quarter.
Prescription drug sales jumped 5.9 percent to $8.18 billion, driven by higher sales of immune disorder drugs Remicade, Simponi and Stelara, and Xarelto for preventing heart attacks and strokes, plus sales of new blood cancer drug Imbruvica.
Sales of consumer health products such as allergy pill Zyrtec fell 5.8 percent to $3.2 billion. Caruso noted competition hurt sales of baby care items such as No More Tears shampoo.
"It looks like millennial moms are trying a lot of organic, natural and what we call premium brands in that space," Caruso said, adding J&J plans a new marketing campaign for that business later this year.
The company has $17 billion in net cash and marketable securities on hand, and Caruso said it's looking for acquisitions "at the right price."
Meanwhile, Erik Gordon, an analyst and business professor at University of Michigan, warned, "Nobody knows how huge the company's liabilities could be in the talcum powder and other mass tort product liability cases."
A Missouri jury in February awarded $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who died from ovarian cancer blamed on J&J's baby powder, and at least 1,200 other cases are pending.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/johnson-johnson-tops-street-1q-forecasts-38502072
-
How to use talcum powder safely
Apr 19, 2016 | The Telegraph
By Imelda Burke
It's high time you threw away the talc. A recent ruling by a US judge awarded the family of an American woman who died of ovarian cancer $72 million in compensation. The woman had used talc as a bathroom staple for decades and although various studies linking talc directly to ovarian cancer remain inconclusive, the ruling was based on evidence of an internal memo from a Johnson & Johnson medical consultant. The consultant suggested that “anybody who denies risks” between “hygienic” talc use and ovarian cancer would be publicly perceived in the same light as those who denied a link between smoking cigarettes and cancer - "denying the obvious in the face of all evidence to the contrary”.
Interestingly this is not the first time the company has had to defend its ingredients. After years of threatened boycotts and petitions Johnson & Johnson agreed to remove formaldehyde, considered probable human carcinogens, from all products by 2015.
Talc has worryingly been used in cosmetics and body products for decades, due to its highly absorbent and anti-caking nature. You will often find it in finishing powders and we all, of course, know it as the base ingredient in baby powder. Your grandmother probably loved dusting it on her body after a shower and there is little doubt you would have been covered in it as a baby.
Hopefully for most of us interested in the natural beauty sector, the practice of covering our bodies with talc after showering ceased back when we ditched the parabens and SLS, but talc does still crop up in make-up and dry shampoos – even the certified natural kind. Other than the ‘hygiene’ risk, additional fears exist over talc being tainted with asbestos.
But the studies, despite being inconclusive, are about to change things. Not all of the ingredients I’d like to see are excluded from their formulations, but it’s a start. Until then, we won't deny you some safe alternatives.
Cosmetic grade talc, often referred to as ‘clean’ talc, has to adhere to purity requirements, and is tested by X-ray to ensure it meets these standards. Other studies show that talc may have implications on lung conditions via repeated inhalation, but most of these studies were carried out on people working in the mining industry.
With some careful product consideration you can ensure you are either avoiding talc altogether or being smart about your choices. My advice for if you find yourself tempted by the perfect eye-shadow colour or matte finishing powder, only to discover it contains talc, is to follow these guidelines:1. Look for products that are certified natural and/or organic
This not only ensures the talc is cosmetic grade but has the bonus of being checked for impurities, such as asbestos, by the third party certification body.2. Ensure it is in a pressed format
Pressed powders and eye shadows as opposed to loose powders ensure inhalation is kept to a minimum.3. Don’t use it on your baby
This is non-negotiable. For those of us that want to avoid it altogether, it’s easily done. Many natural and organic beauty brands use alternatives such as silica, arrowroot, cassava root and cornflower to achieve a similar mattifying effect without the potential risks. The products may not be as cheap as talc, but what price does one put on long-term health?Talc-free alternatives
Dry Shampoo – Rahua have cleverly combined cassava root with Fullers Earth Cosmetic Clay to make a very effective (in fact my favourite) dry shampoo.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/skin/how-to-go-talc-free/
-
J&J to relaunch baby brand as millennials go organic
Apr 19, 2016 | Financial Times
By David Crow and Lindsay Whipp
Johnson & Johnson is relaunching its baby care business because millennial mothers are ditching its storied talcum powders and shampoos in favour of more expensive organic alternatives, making it the latest power brand to fall prey to the changing tastes of younger consumers.
US sales of J&J’s baby care products, including its “no more tears” shampoo and bedtime lotion, fell by 14 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter to $95m, their lowest level in a decade, after parents switched to all-natural products that are often made by much smaller companies.
Dominic Caruso, J&J’s chief financial officer, attributed the decline to “new competition, primarily from premium, natural-type brands”.
“It looks like millennial moms are buying new organic products,” he added.
Mr Caruso said the company had “robust plans to relaunch baby” this year and would provide further details next month. He said the group was open to buying competing products, but that it would focus “primarily on an internal remake”.
In February, the company was ordered by a state jury in Missouri to pay $72m in damages to the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was linked to several decades of use of the company’s baby powder and another of its talc-based products.
J&J, which plans to appeal against the verdict, said there was no link between the publicity surrounding the case and falling sales of its baby products. “We don’t see any impact associated with that matter,” said Mr Caruso.
The company’s infant brands have been a mainstay for many parents ever since the launch of its Johnson’s baby powder in 1893, but more recently the group has struggled to combat the perception that some of its products contain dangerous chemicals.
In 2014, it agreed to remove two potentially harmful ingredients, formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, from its baby products, following pressure from consumers and environmental campaigners.
J&J announced the shake-up of its baby unit as it reported higher-than-expected earnings for the first quarter and nudged up its sales and profits forecasts for the full year, sending shares in the company up by 0.3 per cent in premarket trading to $111.25.
First-quarter sales rose 0.6 per cent to $17.48bn, led by demand for pharmaceuticals products in the US. However, overseas sales were hurt by a strong dollar and the devaluation of Venezuela's currency.
The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.68, two cents higher than the $1.65 that Wall Street analysts were typically expecting.
Based on current exchange rates, the company now expects sales of between $71.2bn and $71.9bn this year, up from its January estimate of $70.8bn to $71.5bn. It now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share in the range of $6.53-$6.68, up from its prior forecast of $6.43-$6.58.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/035c1068-0630-11e6-96e5-f85cb08b0730.html#axzz46HQ00P1l
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
US Coverage
EMEA Coverage
Full Text of Stories Below
Add recipients
Suggested