J&J’s Bet on Pharma Paying Off as Psoriasis Pill Icotyde Eyes $10 Billion Peak Sales

Johnson & Johnson’s strategic pivot to pharmaceuticals is delivering measurable financial results, with Q1 2026 adjusted earnings per share hitting $2.70—just above the $2.68 consensus—and sales reaching $24.1 billion, surpassing the $23.6 billion forecast. The $410 million revenue beat wasn’t broad-based; it was driven overwhelmingly by the pharmaceutical division, where sales climbed 11.2% to $15.4 billion, outpacing estimates by $200 million. That strength flowed from two immunology drugs: Darzalex, which generated $4.0 billion in the quarter, and Tremfya, which posted $1.6 billion in sales—up from $956 million a year earlier and well ahead of the $1.4 billion expected. The FDA’s September 2025 approval of Tremfya’s subcutaneous form, enabling patients to self-administer at home, has given J&J a distribution and convenience advantage over AbbVie’s Skyrizi, which requires initial clinic infusions. That momentum is now being extended to Icotyde, an oral IL-23 inhibitor for plaque psoriasis approved by the FDA in March 2026 through a 2017 licensing deal with Protagonist Therapeutics. With no initial sales figures disclosed, the market is relying on Truist Securities’ projection: peak annual sales of around $10 billion. The confidence in this pipeline is reflected in J&J’s raised full-year guidance—$100.8 billion in sales and $11.55 in adjusted EPS, both above previous targets and Wall Street’s expectations.