Subject: Johnson & Johnson Sees Big Development And Research Outlay
Date: Published: 12/9/91 (50 lines)
Source:  Wall Street Journal.  Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc. 

    Johnson & Johnson
    Sees Big Development
    And Research Outlay

    NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J. -- Johnson & Johnson said it continues
 to spend heavily on research and development, expecting the
 total to be nearly $1 billion this year.
    "This investment has resulted in a steady flow of new
 products," said Ralph S. Larsen, chairman and chief executive
 officer, "with 30% of annual revenues coming from products
 introduced in the past five years."  Mr. Larsen and other top
 executives spoke at company headquarters to a gathering of
 securities analysts.
    Investors liked the presentation.  Johnson & Johnson shares
 rose $2.625, to close at $102.625, in New York Stock Exchange
 trading Friday.  Volume was more than 1.1 million shares.
    The company also discussed current product performance.
 Pierre Dupasquier, chairman of the company's consumer
 products sector, said Johnson & Johnson's over-the-counter
 drugs such as Tylenol were well over half of the company's
 U. S. consumer business last year, up from a third only a few
 years ago.  One of the many developments in the consumer drug
 business was the introduction of the vaginal anti-fungal
 Monistat 7 as an over-the-counter product.
    The company also said its Ethicon surgical sutures and
 wound closures subsidiary has moved aggressively into the
 endoscopic, or minimally invasive, surgery products market.
 This year, Ethicon has introduced 45 new products for
 endoscopic procedures such as gall bladder and hernia
 operations.
    Johnson & Johnson added that it has 10 applications before
 the Food and Drug Administration to market already approved
 drugs for new medical uses.  Among the drugs is the
 anti-anemia drug Procrit, which is awaiting approval for use
 with cancer patients.  Procrit is already used in patients
 with chronic renal disease and for AIDS patients.  The company
 said there are about 33 compounds in earlier stages of
 research and development, including new drugs for allergy,
 cardiovascular disorders and cancer.
    The company told analysts that it has 18 products with
 annual sales of over $50 million, and 12 of the 18 have sales
 of over $100 million.

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