Johnson & Johnson reported $100 million in first-quarter sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, CNBC reported April 20.
The drugmaker's pharmaceutical business generated $12.19 billion in revenue, up 9.6 percent from the previous year. The results were driven by sales of Darzalex, a multiple myeloma drug, as well as Stelara, a Crohn's disease drug, according to CNBC.
Johnson & Johnson reported $2.59 per share versus $2.34 expected for the first quarter, as well as a revenue of $22.32 billion versus $21.98 expected. The drugmaker raised its full-year expectations to $9.42 to $9.57 per share, up from its previous forecast of $9.40 to $9.60 per share, CNBC reported. It expects revenue of $90.6 billion to $91.6 billion, compared to its previous forecast of $90.5 billion to $91.7 billion.
Johnson & Johnson CFO Joseph Wolk told CNBC the drugmaker still expects to deliver 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in the first half of this year, if investigations into rare blood-clotting cases following vaccination "go well."
The vaccine is currently on hold in the U.S. as the FDA and CDC investigate six cases of rare but serious blood clots reported in six women after they received the shot. Johnson & Johnson scientists have said there's insufficient evidence of a causal relationship between the vaccine and blood clots.
The CDC is set to meet April 23 to provide guidance on the vaccine in the U.S. The European Medicines Agency said April 20 a label should be added to warn about the rare possibility of blood clots, but that the shot shouldn't be banned.
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