Today’s Financial Times included a story (subscription required) about Johnson & Johnson’s comprehensive approach to preventing and treating disease. The story contained a number of inaccuracies, which Johnson & Johnson addressed in a letter to the Financial Times editors. Here is what we had to say.

Dear Editor of the Financial Times:

Today’s Financial Times included an article about the comprehensive approach of Johnson & Johnson to the prevention and treatment of significant chronic diseases. The story contained a number of inaccuracies.

While Johnson & Johnson believes the breadth of its business interests across consumer, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals business segments is a valuable advantage in its approach to the treatment of a number of chronic conditions, including cancer, the company does not intend to market consumer and regulated products more closely, as reported. In a discussion with the Financial Times, company executives talked about how leaders from the various business segments share insights that improve their understanding of the needs of patients with cancer and other conditions, and, presumably, result in products and services that better meet these needs. They did not, however, state or suggest that the company would market such products together.

Sincerely,

Bill Price
Vice President, Media Relations
Johnson & Johnson

Yesterday, we held a meeting with the investment community to review growth strategies for Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceuticals business.   It was an in-depth look at how our employees and partners across the world are working to address major unmet needs in a number of areas, and developing an amazing pipeline of new medicines.   Sheri McCoy, vice chairman of the Executive Committee, spoke about meeting needs with science and increasing the capacity to treat patients, saying , “We have the opportunity to make a difference for people around the world.”

Paul Stoffels, M.D., also provided an overview of the strength of the pharmaceuticals pipeline, and Joaquin Duato reviewed the commercial strategies that have enabled our pharmaceuticals businesses to become launch leaders in several categories.  Paul and Joaquin are both Worldwide Chairmen, Pharmaceuticals.  The Company highlighted the expectations of its pharmaceuticals businesses to file 11 new products and more than 30 line extensions in the next five years.  

The R&D leaders took investors on a deeper dive in five therapeutic areas:  neuroscience, cardiovascular and metabolism, immunology, oncology and infectious diseases and vaccines.   They spoke about recent product approvals, the strength of the pharmaceuticals pipeline in these areas, and the geographic reach of the business, both in established markets and in emerging markets.   

Some of the main highlights were:

• The Company’s pharmaceuticals business is in the process of launching six key pharmaceutical products since 2009 and is advancing key compounds in our pipeline.
• The pharmaceuticals business is leveraging global market strategies and using local insights to meet unmet needs worldwide and expand its geographic presence.
• The pharmaceuticals business segment is very well positioned for global growth.

The press release is here, and you can listen to a replay of the webcast on our website.

Recently, Bloomberg BusinessWeek published an article covering some recent events at Johnson & Johnson and its operating companies. The piece covered a great deal of ground, ranging from the recent recalls at our DePuy unit to the situation at our McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit. To express his perspective on behalf of the employees of Johnson & Johnson, Chairman and CEO Bill Weldon sent a letter to the editor of Bloomberg Businessweek to share our position on the article:

April 1, 2011

Dear Editor of Bloomberg Businessweek,

I read your article this week about our company, and I was truly saddened by your portrayal of Johnson & Johnson. The recent events you wrote about are disappointments for me as the chairman and CEO and, more importantly, for the men and women of our company. We own our mistakes, but your story misrepresents and understates the deep commitment of our 114,000 people who dedicate their careers and lives to serving the world’s human health care needs.

Over the course of Johnson & Johnson’s 125-year history, we have made incredible contributions to the medicines and products that so many people have counted on to cure, heal and help their families to lead healthy lives. And we continue doing so today. We hold those achievements close to our hearts. They inspire each of us at Johnson & Johnson to work on behalf of the millions of patients and customers who use our products every day.

We don’t claim to be perfect and we would never put anything ahead of patient health and safety. In cases where we let down our customers, we have accepted responsibility for our mistakes, instituted changes, and committed the company’s resources to continuously improve ourselves and our products for the benefit of our patients.

Your readers – our customers – should know that we are listening and remain committed to manufacturing high-quality products that improve and prolong lives. We are a company that finds no greater satisfaction or fulfillment than addressing the important health issues and needs of people who use our products every day.

Sincerely

William C. Weldon
Chairman and CEO
Johnson & Johnson

Every January, following the release of the company’s fourth-quarter 2010 earnings, our chairman and chief addresses the financial analysts who follow the company to provide an assessment of the state of the business.  Earlier today, Chairman and CEO Bill Weldon did just that.  You can listen to a replay of the earnings call – including Bill’s remarks – but I thought it would be of interest to share a few things covered during this wide-ranging discussion for those checking out JNJBTW.  As he finished the call, Bill made the following points:

“Whether we encounter periods of slow economic growth, a product issue, or a market challenge, this commitment [to Our Credo Operating Model and our people] is the reason we can manage through the turbulent times, continue investing, and stay well-positioned for sustainable growth.

As I wrap-up, let me re-cap some of the critical points I hope you will take away today.

Johnson & Johnson is built on a strong foundation, driven by its Credo and operating model, and we are emerging stronger from recent challenges.

Our overall business is performing well, led by our Medical Devices & Diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals businesses.

We have made changes to address our supply chain issues and continue to build the Consumer business with science-based innovations that will lead the market as the business and economy recovers.

Our innovations are moving into the marketplace, launching successfully, addressing critical unmet needs in incredible ways, and thus building market share.

Our presence in promising, new growth areas and across our global footprint gives us outstanding market opportunities.

And our people are some of the most respected and talented leaders in the health care industry.

We are fortunate to compete in one of the most important and rewarding industries in the world. I am confident that we are putting the supply chain problems of 2010 behind us, and we have the products, pipelines, global presence and talented people to expand our market leadership and bring innovative solutions to health care.”

Earlier today, we issued a press release announcing that Alex Gorsky, currently Worldwide Chairman, Medical Devices & Diagnostics and Sheri McCoy, currently Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals, have been appointed Vice Chairmen of the Executive Committee and join William C. Weldon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, in an expanded Office of the Chairman. Both appointments are effective January 3, 2011. In the communication distributed globally to all Johnson & Johnson employees, Bill summed up these organizational changes in the following way:

Earlier today, senior leaders from our Medical Devices & Diagnostics segment (which, BTW, is the the company’s largest business segment) held a meeting with the investment community to highlight the new products, pipelines, geographic presence and other strategies that will sustain the long-term growth of this business. You can listen to a replay of the webcast on our website, but below are a few of the tweets I put out earlier today:

J&J holds analyst meeting highlighting growth strategies for its Medical Devices and Diagnostics (MD&D) segment http://bit.ly/cdY11k

Webcast of presentations for J&J MD&D analyst meeting on J&J website http://bit.ly/gNVaT

MD&D day will highlight new products, including blood glucose monitoring/hernia repair systems, disposable contacts http://bit.ly/agrGrp

Gorsky, WW Chair, MD&D segment: can grow in underpenetrated mrkts thru intro of more advanced products/organic growth http://bit.ly/agrGrp

MD&D received more than 12 reg approvals so far in ’10, plans to make about 80 significant submissions between ’10-’12 http://bit.ly/agrGrp

MD&D segment continues to globalize current portfolios by developing more localized products for different markets http://bit.ly/agrGrp

As I was wrapping everything up for the day, I thought that for those who weren’t following @JNJComm this morning ‘d share my tweets from today’s annual shareholders meeting. The meeting started at about 10 AM Eastern Standard Time.

10:04 — Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Bill Weldon addresses shareholders at company’s annual meeting #JNJAM10

10:37 — CEO Weldon says 70% of sales are from products with #1 or #2 market share positions #JNJAM10

10:37 — CEO Weldon says it is the 48th consecutive year Johnson & Johnson has increased quarterly dividend #JNJAM10

10:38 — CEO Weldon says that in 2009, Johnson & Johnson delivered total shareholder return of 11.3 percent #JNJAM10

10:40 — Shareholders elect nominees to the J&J Board of Directors/ratify PricewaterhouseCoopers as independent auditors for 2010 #JNJAM10

10:41 — Johnson & Johnson increased quarterly dividend from 49 cents a share to 54 cents a share http://bit.ly/bnhLmx #JNJAM10

10:46 — CEO Weldon outlines 4 factors that enable growth that will be focused on: 1) innovative products, 2) robust pipelines #JNJAM10

10:47 — CEO Weldon outlines 4 factors that enable growth that will be focused on: 3) global presence, 4) talented people #JNJAM10

10:49 — WW Chairman of Consumer, Colleen Goggins addresses the Johnson & Johnson shareholder meeting #JNJAM10

10:50 — Goggins describes opportunities for the consumer business: emerging markets, digital media, non-traditional retail channels, sustainability

10:55 — Johnson & Johnson increased quarterly dividend from 49 cents a share to 54 cents a share http://bit.ly/bnhLmx #JNJAM10 $JNJ

11:03 — Goggins highlights Text4Baby initiative (http://bit.ly/9mo0nK and http://bit.ly/csUdPt) at J&J shareholder meeting #JNJAM10

11:04 — WW Chairman of Medical Devices and Diagnostics Alex Gorsky addresses Johnson & Johnson shareholder meeting http://bit.ly/2mgd9k #JNJAM10

11:10 – Gorsky says MD&D segment is “largest in the world” and then highlights some of the breakthrough innovations the company is bring to market

11:19 — WW Chairman of Pharmaceuticals Sheri McCoy addresses Johnson & Johnson shareholder meeting http://bit.ly/2mgd9k #JNJAM10

11:23 — McCoy describes how the global pharmaceutical market is roughly $775 billion and projected to grow to over a trillion by 2014 #JNJAM10

11:39 — CEO Weldon describes the company’s Bridge to Employment program — and how it builds HC systems and lives http://bit.ly/b34Q83 #JNJAM10

11:42 — CEO Weldon talks about how Johnson & Johnson responded to the earthquake in Chile http://bit.ly/dwGAXm #JNJAM10

12:23 — That’s the end of the presentations at the J&J annual shareholders meeting. Thanks for joining us. http://bit.ly/2mgd9k #JNJAM10

I thought I would also highlight one other topic covered during the earnings call today. In addition to focusing on a common value system as defined by the company’s Credo, for many years, Johnson & Johnson has worked under an operating model that includes being broadly based in human health care, managing the business for the long term, taking a decentralized management approach and focusing on employees and the company’s value system. Within this strategic framework, the company will rally around common, high level priorities that reflect the current environment and the changing needs of the business. Today Chairman and Chief Executive Office Bill Weldon highlighted the common set of priorities that the company would focus on in 2010. In his words:

“These Growth Priorities are what we believe our businesses need to focus on. They are:

Innovative Products – Our growth has always been based on scientific innovations that serve unmet patient and customer needs in a meaningful way. This has led us to be a market leader, #1 or #2, in many of our businesses. We will stay focused on bringing forth innovative, accessible and effective products – and entirely new business models — that address the most prevalent health care needs of the day.

Robust Pipelines – We must continuously target, invest and manage the development of a robust pipeline of new medicines, devices and products. We plan to use a mix of internal and external sources to sustain pipelines that provide a competitive advantage. We fully expect the new products coming out of our pipeline today to accelerate the proportion of our sales driven by newer products.

Global Presence – As a global health care leader, we must continue to expand our presence and execute our strategies in the appropriate way for diverse markets and customers. Our approach will be strategic, effective and cost-efficient to address the local needs.

Talented People – Our extraordinary and diverse workforce is still our cornerstone and we must develop our people, challenge them, motivate them and reward them to achieve success.”

At the beginning of each year, most people reflect on what they had accomplished over the previous twelve months and consider whether they met their own personal goals and expectations. Though most of us do this routinely – usually during the aftermath of New Year’s Eve – we often forget that organizations need to do the same.

In his remarks to analysts today to discuss the fourth quarter 2009 earnings, Chairman and CEO Bill Weldon took a look back at what was said back in 2008 and then to see what the company has accomplished. So what exactly were those accomplishments?

You can listen to a replay of the earnings call – including Bill’s remarks – but I thought it would be of interest to share what he covered for those checking out JNJBTW. During the call today, Bill said the following:

“When we met with this group in January 2008, we looked ahead at the business challenges we would see over the next two years, we spoke about building our foundation of growth and we discussed many of the steps we were taking to do that:

We were in the midst of completing a restructuring of our Pharmaceuticals and Cordis businesses to deal with significant patent expirations and competitive pressures. Those restructurings were completed.

We were completing the integration of the Pfizer Consumer Healthcare business with our Consumer and OTC businesses, and looking ahead to further developing iconic brands like Listerine and Zyrtec. These integrated Consumer businesses are seeing solid performance.

We were continuing to make investments in emerging markets, including the traditional BRIC markets – Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as other fast-growing developing markets like Mexico and Turkey.

We continued to advance our pipeline of pharmaceutical and medical device products, with many of those we highlighted now in the market or nearing approval.

We continued to identify white spaces in health care, investing in two acquisitions as cornerstones to a new Wellness and Prevention business.

Beyond that, we’ve made 8 major acquisitions since the beginning of 2008 and invested in several strategic licensing or collaboration agreements over that same period. These deals are complementary to our internal pipelines and bring us new capabilities or access to new growth platforms. “

2009 marks the 65th year that Johnson & Johnson has been listed as a public company on the New York Stock Exchange. To commemorate this event, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Weldon, Chief Financial Officer Dominic Caruso and a bunch of other folks involved with our investor and shareholder activity yesterday rang the closing bell at the exchange.

Twelve of my collegues squeezed on to the historic balcony overlooking the noisy floor of the 217-year-old exchange to literally bring trading to a halt as the clock struck 4. You can catch the footage here.

A lot of thoughtful planning goes into the bell-ringing ceremony, with participants encouraged to arrive as early as 3 p.m. As we were making their way to the balcony at around 3:50, something prompted one of our group to ask their NYSE host if any ceremonial bell-ringing individual or organization had ever shown up late for the job. As a matter of fact, he was told, just recently one celebrity performer was quite upset to arrive a couple minutes late and discover they hadn’t held up the exchange closing for him.

To mark this moment, Margaret (as usual!!!) pulled out some fascinating facts and information about what it was like 65 years ago when the company first made the move from being a privately-held company to being listed on the NYSE.