Johnson & Johnson reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, fueled by surging sales of its new drug for hepatitis C that are expected to evaporate in coming months due to competition from a more potent and convenient combination treatment.Sales of the J&J drug, called Olysio and approved by U.S. regulators in November, reached $796 million in the third quarter, following strong sales in the prior period.But Morningstar analyst Damien Conover said demand for Olysio will soon crumble due to the approval on Friday of a new pill called Harvoni from Gilead Sciences Inc that can rid patients of the liver-destroying viral infection within 12 weeks.Even so, Conover said strong quarterly sales of other relatively new J&J drugs, including its Zytiga treatment for prostate cancer and blood clot preventer Xarelto, bode well for J&J and the drug industry.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead) is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines. Shares of GILD fell by 2.57% or $-2.605/share to $98.84. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $61.81 and as high as $110.64. On average, 13929100 shares of GILD exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 8370611.
Johnson & Johnson is a holding company. The Company is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a broad range of products in the health care field. Shares of JNJ fell by 2.16% or $-2.14/share to $96.98. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $86.09 and as high as $108.77. On average, 6714730 shares of JNJ exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 6477508.
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