*

Strong sales of cancer drugs, especially Darzalex, drive

revenue

*

Stelara sales beat estimates but face future competition

from

biosimilars

*

Medtech unit sales rise but fall short of expectations due

to

competition

By Patrick Wingrove and Bhanvi Satija

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) raised its

2024 profit and sales forecasts on Tuesday after reporting

strong sales of oncology drugs and quarterly results that beat

Wall Street expectations.

The New Jersey-based healthcare conglomerate boosted its

profit forecast for the year at the midpoint by 10 cents to

$10.15 per share, excluding a 24-cent charge related to its

purchase of medical device maker V-Wave.

The company also said it expected to post sales of

between $89.4 billion and $89.8 billion for the year, having

previously forecast $89.2 billion to $89.6 billion.

However, it now expects to earn between $9.86 and $9.96

per share for the year, including charges related to merger and

acquisitions, having previously forecast a range of $10 to

$10.10 per share.

J&J earned $2.42 per share on an adjusted basis in the

third quarter, falling 9% on the previous year but beating

analysts' average estimates of $2.21, according to LSEG data.

The company's quarterly sales stood at $22.5 billion, ahead of

analysts' expectations of $22.16 billion.

Sales of J&J's oncology drugs rose nearly 19% worldwide for

the quarter, driven by sales of its cancer treatment Darzalex of

more than $3 billion, which rose 20.7% or more than $500 million

on the previous year.

Analysts, who expect Darzalex to bring in revenue of about

$11 billion for J&J this year, had expected the drug to make

$2.92 billion for the quarter.

J&J Chief Financial Officer Joe Wolk said continued adoption

of the subcutaneous version of Darzalex, which significantly

reduces treatment time, and regulatory approval of further

indications for the drug helped drive sales.

Sales of J&J's blockbuster psoriasis drug Stelara fell 6.6%

to $2.68 billion in the third quarter, but beat analyst

estimates of $2.43 billion, according to LSEG data. Of this,

two-thirds came from sales in the U.S.

Stelara has long been a key driver of revenue growth for

J&J, with analysts forecasting sales of over $10 billion this

year. But this could fall to about $7 billion in 2025 when as

many as six close copies of the drug launch in the U.S.

The drug began facing competition from biosimilar rivals

earlier this year in markets including Canada, the European

Economic Area and Japan.

The company's cancer cell therapy, Carvykti, brought in

sales of $286 million, beating estimates of $239 million. Tight

supply has limited Carvykti sales, with the company working to

boost production capacity at its plants in New Jersey and

Belgium.

Quarterly sales for J&J's medtech unit rose 5.8% to

nearly $7.9 billion for the quarter, but fell short of analysts'

expectations of $8.05 billion, according to LSEG data

J&J said in July that the China market could be a "short

term" pain for the company.

Wolk told Reuters that J&J had hoped for "something

better" in its medtech performance this quarter but faced

headwinds in the Asia Pacific region, including in China and

Japan.