Johnson & Johnson expects 10 NDA filings by 2017, saying pharma sector poised for growth

At a meeting today with industry analysts, senior leaders from the Janssen pharmaceutical companies of US health care giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) yesterday (May 23) announced they anticipate submitting more than 10 new product filings and more than 25 significant brand line extensions by 2017.

With a unique model of innovation, the pharmaceuticals segment of J&J - which accounts for 38% of the company’s annual sales - has built an industry-leading pipeline that has yielded 11 new product launches since 2009, more than doubling its productivity over the past four years, they noted These 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. Current plans are for new products to account for nearly half of the total sales in the Pharmaceuticals segment by 2017.

"Our investment in transformational innovation has enabled strong growth that has allowed us to continue investing in our future portfolio," said Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer, Johnson & Johnson, and worldwide chairman, Pharmaceuticals Group. "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," he added.