Johnson & Johnson's 2024 Financial Report Released! Darzalex (Daratumumab) Reaches $11.6 Billion, Legendary CAR-T Sees a 92.7% Year-on-Year Growth

On January 22, Johnson & Johnson announced its 2024 performance, with total revenue for the year reaching $88.821 billion, a 4.3% year-on-year increase. The two main business segments of J&J—Innovative Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices—achieved revenues of $56.964 billion (+4.0%) and $31.857 billion (+4.8%), respectively.

Johnson & Johnson's Innovative Pharmaceuticals division primarily focuses on oncology, immunology, neuroscience, infectious diseases, pulmonary hypertension, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases. Among these, oncology and immunology contributed the most to overall performance. Oncology generated $20.781 billion in 2024, a 17.7% increase year-on-year, while immunology brought in $17.828 billion, a 1.2% decrease. Additionally, pulmonary hypertension products brought in $4.282 billion, a 12.3% year-on-year increase, further driving the overall growth.

The growth of Johnson & Johnson's oncology business in 2024 was mainly driven by the strong performance of products such as Darzalex (daratumumab), Erleada (apalutamide), Carvykti (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), and Tecvayli (teclistamab). The CD38-targeted multiple myeloma treatment Darzalex saw continued market share growth worldwide, with full-year sales reaching $11.67 billion, a 19.8% increase. This marks the first time since the drug's 2015 launch that its sales surpassed $10 billion.

Multiple myeloma is a key therapeutic area for Johnson & Johnson. In addition to Darzalex, other products such as BCMA CAR-T therapy Carvykti (developed in collaboration with Legend Biotech), CD3/BCMA bispecific antibody Tecvayli, and CD3/GPRC5D bispecific antibody Talvey (talquetamab, a subcutaneous formulation) all performed well.

Carvykti led the growth, with a 92.7% increase, becoming the fastest-growing product in J&J's 2024 Innovative Pharmaceuticals business, reaching $963 million in sales, nearly doubling from the previous year. In April 2024, the FDA approved Carvykti for second-line treatment of multiple myeloma based on the CARTUDE-4 study results, marking its second approved indication. With expanding indications and increased production capacity, the drug has significant future growth potential.

In addition, J&J's bispecific T-cell engagers (TCEs) Tecvayli achieved sales of $549 million, a 38.8% year-on-year increase. Another TCE, Talvey, which launched one year ago, has not yet disclosed specific sales figures but continues to enhance J&J's competitive advantage in the multiple myeloma field. J&J's other major hematology product, Imbruvica (ibrutinib), faced strong competition, with 2024 sales declining 6.9% to $3.038 billion.

Prostate cancer blockbuster Zytiga (abiraterone), facing patent expiration, also saw a significant sales drop to $631 million (-28.8%). However, the androgen receptor inhibitor Erleada (apalutamide) has taken over as J&J's core product in this area. Since its 2018 launch, it has rapidly gained market share, with sales increasing 25.6% year-on-year in 2024, reaching $2.999 billion. To maintain its leadership in this space, J&J also launched a combination of abiraterone and niraparib, Akeega, in 2023.

In 2024, J&J also made significant breakthroughs in the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) field. Its EGFR/c-Met bispecific antibody Rybrevant (eyvudomab) and EGFR T790M inhibitor Lazcluze (lazertinib) received FDA approval, providing an EGFR 19 exon deletion (ex19del) or L858R mutation NSCLC first-line treatment option without chemotherapy. Rybrevant in combination with chemotherapy was also approved for first-line treatment of EGFR 20 insertion mutation NSCLC and second-line treatment of EGFR ex19del or L858R mutation NSCLC. This will further expand J&J's oncology business. The company forecasts the Rybrevant/Lazcluze product combination will reach peak sales of over $5 billion.

In the immunology field, J&J's sales performance declined, primarily due to biosimilar competition impacting its blockbuster Stelara (ustekinumab), with a 4.6% decrease in revenue to $10.361 billion. The European market has been consistently eroded, and it is expected that the U.S. market will face similar challenges from biosimilars in 2025. Remicade (infliximab), due to patent expiration, also saw a continued sales decline, with 2024 sales at $1.605 billion, a 12.8% decrease. Simponi (golimumab) sales slightly decreased by 0.3% to $2.190 billion.

Tremfya (guselkumab) continued its double-digit growth, reaching $3.670 billion in sales (+16.6%) in 2024.

To address challenges in the immunology field, J&J is exploring further potential for its existing product Tremfya, conducting several Phase III trials for its use in Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriatic arthritis, and other conditions.

Additionally, J&J is accelerating the development of candidate drugs like the FcRn monoclonal antibody nipocalimab, oral IL-23R antagonist JNJ-2113, and combination antibody therapy JNJ-4804. In November 2024, JNJ-2113 for plaque psoriasis succeeded in two Phase III studies, becoming the first oral IL-23R-targeted drug to complete Phase III trials successfully. J&J is expected to aggressively push these new products to market to mitigate the impact of declining sales from Stelara, Remicade, and Simponi.

In the neuroscience field, Spravato (esketamine nasal spray) performed well, with sales reaching $1.077 billion, a 56.4% year-on-year increase, making it another "billion-dollar molecule" for J&J. Recently, the FDA also approved Spravato for a new indication for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression, which will be another significant growth driver for the product.

It is worth noting that J&J recently spent $14.6 billion to acquire Intra-Cellular Therapies, further strengthening its neuroscience portfolio. The company predicts that the acquired oral antipsychotic product Caplyta (lumateperone) could reach peak sales of over $5 billion.

In the pulmonary hypertension field, J&J's revenue growth was mainly driven by Opsumit (macitentan) and Uptravi (selexipag), with sales of $2.184 billion (+10.7%) and $1.817 billion (+14.9%), respectively.

In terms of biopharmaceutical acquisitions, J&J was also quite active in 2024, completing several deals: In March, it acquired ADC company Ambrx for $2 billion, strengthening its oncology pipeline; in June, it acquired bispecific antibody company Proteologix for $850 million, adding several antibody projects targeting atopic dermatitis and asthma; in July, it acquired Yellow Jersey for $1.25 billion, gaining global rights to NM26, a first-in-class dual antibody targeting IL-4Rα and IL-31 for atopic dermatitis.

In 2024, Johnson & Johnson's Innovative Pharmaceuticals pipeline also reached several key milestones in regulatory filings and important clinical trial data readouts.

Looking ahead to 2025, J&J expects a growth rate of 2.5%-3.5%, with total revenue forecast to reach $90.9 billion to $91.7 billion.