J&J hikes 2021 profit forecast, COVID-19 vaccine sales grow

By TOM MURPHY
AP Health Writer

Sales of the cancer treatment Darzalex helped Johnson & Johnson deliver better-than-expected third quarter earnings, while COVID-19 fueled vaccine revenue and had more customers reaching for Tylenol. The world’s biggest maker of health care products also said Tuesday that it had raised its 2021 earnings forecast. Sales of J&J’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine started to pick up in the quarter and nearly doubled what it brought in during the first half of 2021. J&J also said sales of over-the-counter drugs, which do not need prescriptions, grew 18% globally as more customers bought Tylenol and Motrin partly for vaccine symptom relief.