J&J reports earnings beat as tariffs loom

From my colleague Elaine Chen: Johnson & Johnson reported first-quarter sales and earnings that beat Wall Street expectations this morning.

The company brought in $21.9 billion in sales in the first quarter, driven by sales of its cancer therapies. Adjusted earnings per share was $2.77.

J&J also raised its full-year revenue guidance to include sales of the psychiatric drug Caplyta, which the company got from its acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapeutics. It maintained its full-year earnings guidance, taking into account costs from tariffs and dilution from the Intra-Cellular deal.

The company is the first large drugmaker to report earnings as President Trump proposes major tariffs on imports (which we discuss more in today's newsletter below). Already, major pharma companies including J&J have announced plans to boost U.S. manufacturing.

We'll be tuning into J&J's earnings call later this morning to watch out for any commentary on tariffs.

tariffs

Pharma tariffs loom as Trump targets imports

The Trump administration said yesterday that it had launched a national security investigation into pharmaceutical imports — covering not just finished drugs but also ingredients and raw materials. The move is seen as a prelude to a new tariff regime, STAT's Ed Silverman writes, with China and Ireland squarely in the crosshairs.

While framed as a push for supply chain resilience and job creation, the move could also trigger higher drug prices, potential shortages, and major disruption to the globalized nature of pharma manufacturing. Pharma giants are now committing major resources to localize production, but the full scope of the tariff plan is murky and the industry is bracing for impact.

pHarma

BMS' Camzyos fails to show benefit in heart condition

From my colleague Elaine Chen: Bristol Myers Squibb reported last night that Camzyos, which is already approved to treat obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM), failed to show benefits in patients with a different condition called non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (nHCM).

Bristol said the study did not meet its dual primary endpoints of peak oxygen consumption and a quality-of-life measure called the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire, but it didn't disclose specific data. It said it didn't see any new safety signals.

Analysts at Leerink note that Bristol previously said that nHCM represents about one-third of the overall hypertrophic cardiomyopathy market, while oHCM represents two-thirds.

This development is a positive for competitor Cytokinetics, which is developing a similar drug called aficamten for both oHCM and nHCM, said Mizuho analyst Salim Syed. Aficamten is under review with the FDA for oHCM, and the drug has already shown a statistically significant benefit on symptoms for patients with nHCM in a Phase 2 trial, Syed noted.

jobs

Biotech jobs vanish stateside as power shifts globally

Recent changes in the biotech sector have been seismic, with talent-rich regions like Boston and Cambridge feeling the tremors. Once the undisputed epicenter of biotech innovation, Kendall Square is now facing layoffs, hiring freezes, and a winnowing of lab space occupancy. Meanwhile, companies are increasingly outsourcing research to China and other lower-cost countreis.

The number of U.S. life science job postings is down sharply.

"The drugs that we believe will be approved in the next five to 10 years, a larger proportion of them are going to be coming from China," one venture capitalist said. "Meaning the discovery of them is coming from China. And not necessarily the biotech labs in Cambridge."

PBMS

AGs urge Congress to prohibit PBMs from owning affiliated pharmacies

Dozens of state attorneys general are urging Congress to pass a law prohibiting pharmacy benefit managers from simultaneously owning pharmacies, arguing such a move would boost competition and create more affordable prescription drug prices for Americans.

In a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate, the state officials said PBMs "have overtaken the market and now wield outsized power to reap massive profits at the expense of consumers. The rise of pharmacy benefit managers as middlemen in the prescription drug market has resulted in patients facing fewer choices, lower quality care, and higher prices."

antibody drugs

Attovia secures $90 million to fight inflammation

Attovia Therapeutics just pulled in a $90 million Series C to push its "Attobody" antibodies through the clinic. The company's targeting chronic pruritis and atopic dermatitis, as well as other inflammatory skin conditions that still lack good treatment options. The company's focus is on developing multi-specific antibodies, with ambitions that stretch into conditions like irritable bowel disease.

Just shy of a year back, Attovia raised a $105 million Series B. The company's most advanced biologic, ATTO-1310, is currently in Phase 1 studies, and it'll bring another, ATTO-3712, into the clinic in the second half of 2025.

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