J&J Wheels And Deals, Awaits New Product Approvals

LINDA A. JOHNSON

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Johnson & Johnson, the world's biggest healthcare company and a Dow Jones industrial average component, reports earnings for the third quarter Tuesday morning. Here's a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: A household name for its Band-Aids, "No More Tears" baby shampoo and Acuvue contact lenses, Johnson & Johnson has been adding to its already-impressive biotech business as it tries to reverse a sales decline driven by generic competition and the global recession.

The company made four significant deals in the quarter, most notably its first moves into the vaccines business.

J&J paid $440 million for a stake in Dutch biotechnology company Crucell NV, which is working on developing an antibody-based vaccine and a drug that would target all types of influenza. It also invested nearly $1.4 billion in Irish biotech company Elan Corp., which it will help to develop two experimental drugs for Alzheimer's disease and a vaccine to prevent it.

Johnson & Johnson also completed an $894 million acquisition of Cougar Biotechnology, which is testing a potential treatment for prostate cancer. And it announced a partnership with Gilead Sciences Inc., a top maker of AIDS drugs, to develop a single daily HIV pill; most patients now take multiple pills.