The overhaul of Johnson & Johnson’s infectious disease work, which includes the end of its adult RSV vaccine program, has resulted in expenses of $130 million for the first quarter.
J&J restructured its Janssen pharmaceutical unit during the quarter, cutting the RSV program, HIV and hepatitis work. The cuts were revealed in a town hall meeting back in February, a video of which was obtained by Fierce Pharma. At the same time, Janssen announced layoffs around the globe.
Now, the healthcare giant is announcing the cost of that reprioritization in its first-quarter earnings documents issued Tuesday morning. J&J said that the $130 million expense includes the termination of partnered and non-partnered program costs plus asset impairments, but did not elaborate. The company did not return a request for comment on the programs to be axed as of publication.
But we know that a $3.7 billion deal with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals was on the chopping block. The biotech's CEO Chris Anzalone confirmed that J&J returned a clinical-stage NASH asset “out of the blue” in February.
According to the earnings documents, J&J has completed the prioritization of its R&D investment in its pharma sector “segment to focus on the most promising medicines with the greatest benefit to patients.”
In February, Fierce Pharma reported that J&J was overhauling the Janssen unit’s infectious diseases and vaccine groups, which meant sweeping layoffs in countries around the world. The two units were to be combined into one group, with Penny Heaton, M.D., overseeing the merged unit. She previously served as head of the existing vaccines division.
J&J reported in October 2021 that the RSV vaccine candidate achieved efficacy as high as 80% in preventing severe infections in a mid-stage clinical trial.