J&J Strengthens in Medtech

Johnson & Johnson has spent a lot of resources in recent years to refine its role in the medtech space through restructuring, rebranding, divestitures, and M&A. A look at the New Brunswick, NJ-based company’s most recent earnings report confirms that the company’s medtech unit is building momentum and increasing its competitiveness.

J&J CEO Joaquin Duato told analysts and investors during the second-quarter earnings call that the company currently has 11 medtech platforms that each delivered more than $1 billion in annual revenue, and that 10 of those platforms are maintaining or gaining market share. He also said Johnson & Johnson MedTech delivered 6% adjusted operational growth in the first half of 2022.

“Over the past several years, this acceleration in performance has been driven by the delivery of differentiated solutions as well as improved commercial execution. We expect this improvement to continue, enabled by our innovative pipeline as well as the potential for expansion into higher growth market segments,” Duato said. “…And based on the most recent results, we are gaining or holding share in nearly all of these.”

The focus of the unit is to continue strengthen its current strongholds, he said, and also accessing some high-growth market segments to accelerate growth. Duato also noted that, down the road, he continues to see M&A as an important source of building the pipeline and fortifying the current portfolio.

“My view is that we are already getting competitive growth rates in MedTech with 6% in the first half of the year. The growth rate in the second quarter has to be also put into perspective in the fact that the comparison with the second quarter of 2021 is a difficult one. MedTech grew 59% in the second quarter of 2021. And also there was some impact of the mobility restrictions in Asia Pacific,” Duato said.