Most drugmakers keep 2020 guidance the same despite rocky Q1

Most drugmakers kept their 2020 financial guidance the same despite a rocky first quarter, according to a report from S&P Global. 

Johnson & Johnson was one of the notable exceptions, lowering its forecast for 2020 sales revenue, mostly due to the pandemic's effects on its device business. 

Unlike medical devicemakers — many of which either suspended or withdrew their 2020 financial guidance due to a lack of elective surgeries — drugmakers have so far been minimally affected financially by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Drugmakers with products that are mostly administered in hospitals saw bigger sales losses than those with products used outside hospitals, S&P global found. Drugmakers that sell pills instead of injections also fared better. 

The top 15 drugmakers and the changes made to their 2020 sales revenue guidance: 

1. Johnson & Johnson — Lowered
2. Roche — No change 
3. Pfizer — No change 
4. Novartis — No change 
5. Merck — Lowered
6. Novo Nordisk — No change 
7. Eli Lilly — No change
8. AstraZeneca — No change 
9. Bristol Myers Squibb — No change
10. Amgen — No change
11. AbbVie — No change 
12. Sanofi — No change 
13. GlaxoSmithKline — No change 
14. Gilead Sciences — No change
15. Vertex Pharmaceuticals — Raised