Johnson & Johnson Stock Price, News & Analysis

Johnson & Johnson announced that its subsidiary, Red River Talc , has filed a voluntary prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy case to resolve all current and future ovarian cancer claims related to cosmetic talc litigation in the United States. The proposed bankruptcy plan has received support from approximately 83% of current claimants, exceeding the 75% approval threshold required by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Red River has increased its settlement commitment by $1.75 billion to approximately $8 billion. The plan represents a present value of about $8 billion to be paid over 25 years, totaling approximately $10 billion nominal. This settlement is one of the largest ever reached in a mass tort bankruptcy case.

The company maintains that none of the talc-related claims have merit, citing rejections by independent experts and regulatory bodies. The plan would resolve 99.75% of all pending talc lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and its affiliates in the United States.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced FDA approval of RYBREVANT® (amivantamab-vmjw) in combination with standard chemotherapy for treating adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with specific EGFR mutations, whose disease progressed after EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment.

The approval is based on the Phase 3 MARIPOSA-2 study, which showed RYBREVANT® plus chemotherapy reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 52 percent compared to chemotherapy alone. The median progression-free survival was 6.3 months for the combination therapy versus 4.2 months for chemotherapy alone.

This marks the third new indication for RYBREVANT® this year, bringing potential new standards of care to nearly 30,000 patients diagnosed with EGFR-mutated NSCLC in the United States annually.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced interim data from the Phase 2 SunRISe-4 study, showing that neoadjuvant treatment with investigational TAR-200 plus cetrelimab (CET) nearly doubled the pathological complete response (pCR) rate compared to CET alone in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Key findings include:

- 42% pCR rate for TAR-200 plus CET vs. 23% for CET alone
- 60% pathological overall response rate for combination vs. 36% for CET alone
- In patients with organ-confined disease, 48% pCR rate for combination vs. 23% for CET alone
- 68% of patients with organ-confined disease were downstaged at radical cystectomy

The treatment showed a manageable safety profile, with mostly Grade 1-2 adverse events. These results suggest TAR-200 plus cetrelimab could potentially alter bladder cancer treatment approaches.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced promising results from the Phase 2b SunRISe-1 study of TAR-200 for treating high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC). Key findings include:

- 83.5% complete response rate in the pivotal Cohort 2 (TAR-200 monotherapy)
- 82% of patients maintained response after a median 9-month follow-up
- Estimated 12-month complete response rate of 57.4%
- Low discontinuation rates due to treatment-resistant adverse events (6% in Cohort 2)

The study also evaluated TAR-200 plus cetrelimab (Cohort 1) and cetrelimab monotherapy (Cohort 3), but results favor TAR-200 monotherapy. These findings support TAR-200's potential as a novel treatment for patients unresponsive to BCG immunotherapy, offering an alternative to radical cystectomy.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced promising results from the Phase 1b/2 OrigAMI-1 study at ESMO 2024. RYBREVANT® (amivantamab-vmjw) combined with chemotherapy showed a 49% overall response rate in RAS/BRAF wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients who hadn't received anti-EGFR therapy. Key findings include:

- Median duration of response: 7.4 months
- Median progression-free survival: 7.5 months
- Disease control rate: 88%
- 21% of patients proceeded to curative-intent surgery

The safety profile was manageable, with no new safety signals observed. These results suggest RYBREVANT®'s potential beyond lung cancer, particularly in EGFR inhibitor-naïve mCRC patients. Pivotal Phase 3 trials for RYBREVANT®-based regimens in colorectal cancer are planned.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced updated results from the Phase 3 MARIPOSA-2 study at ESMO 2024, showing RYBREVANT® (amivantamab-vmjw) combined with chemotherapy led to consistent benefits in post-progression outcomes for previously treated EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The data revealed a favorable trend toward improved overall survival (OS) compared to chemotherapy alone.

Key findings include:

• 50% of patients treated with RYBREVANT® plus chemotherapy were alive at 18 months vs 40% with chemotherapy alone
• Median OS: 17.7 vs 15.3 months (HR: 0.73, P=0.039)
• 22% of patients remained on RYBREVANT® plus chemotherapy at 18 months vs 4% on chemotherapy alone
• Significant improvements in treatment discontinuation rates, time to symptomatic progression, and time to subsequent therapy

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced FDA approval of TREMFYA® (guselkumab) for treating adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC). TREMFYA® is the first dual-acting interleukin-23 inhibitor approved for UC, showing significant endoscopic remission rates at one year in the QUASAR program. Key findings include:

- 50% of patients on TREMFYA® 200 mg q4w and 45% on 100 mg q8w achieved clinical remission at week 44 vs 19% on placebo.
- 34% (200 mg) and 35% (100 mg) achieved endoscopic remission at one year vs 15% on placebo.

This approval marks TREMFYA®'s third indication, following plaque psoriasis and active psoriatic arthritis. The recommended dosage for UC is 200 mg induction dose at weeks 0, 4, and 8, followed by maintenance doses.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced results from the Phase 2 SKIPPirr study, evaluating strategies to reduce infusion-related reactions (IRRs) with RYBREVANT® in non-small cell lung cancer patients. The study of 40 patients showed that prophylaxis with 8-mg dexamethasone for two days prior to the first infusion resulted in an all-grades IRR rate of 22.5 percent, a significant reduction from the 67.4 percent historically observed.

Key findings:

• All IRRs were Grade 1 or 2, with no hospitalizations required
• No Grade 3 or higher IRR events reported
• Most common IRR-related symptoms: nausea (8%), dyspnea (5%), and hypotension (5%)
• Safety profile consistent with previous studies

The study suggests that incorporating oral dexamethasone into the treatment regimen can help mitigate IRR risks, potentially improving the patient experience with RYBREVANT® treatment.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced promising long-term data from the Phase 3 MARIPOSA study at the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer. The study evaluated RYBREVANT® (amivantamab-vmjw) plus LAZCLUZE™ (lazertinib) against osimertinib monotherapy in advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Key findings at three years follow-up:

• 61% survival rate for RYBREVANT® plus LAZCLUZE™ vs 53% for osimertinib
• Improved central nervous system disease control
• 40% of patients on RYBREVANT® combination still on treatment vs 29% on osimertinib
• Safety profile consistent with individual treatments

The FDA approved this combination therapy for first-line treatment of EGFR-mutated NSCLC in August 2024.