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Johnson & Johnson will spin out its orthopaedics division as the US-based healthcare group seeks to shift the focus of its medical technology division towards faster-growing areas.<\/p>\n
Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it would pursue options for divesting its business for knee, hip and other orthopaedic replacements, which analysts said was losing market share to competitors. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis transaction enables Johnson & Johnson<\/a> to further strengthen its focus and investment toward higher-growth areas where we can meaningfully extend and improve patient lives,\u201d said Joaquin Duato, chief executive.<\/p>\n The split, expected to be completed in the next 18 to 24 months, comes after Duato last month acknowledged that orthopaedics was not a fast-growing segment. <\/p>\n The company said the move would create \u201ca standalone orthopaedics business, operating as DePuy Synthes, that would be the largest, most comprehensive orthopaedics-focused company with leading market share positions across major categories\u201d. It added that the division had generated $9.2bn in sales in its 2024 fiscal year.<\/p>\n Chief financial officer Joseph Wolk told the Financial Times a public listing for the division was unlikely, adding that \u201cin the scheme of where the other growth rates are for Johnson & Johnson\u2019s platforms, it falls a little short\u201d.<\/p>\n Johnson & Johnson was one of 17 companies that drew President Donald Trump\u2019s ire this summer over drug prices<\/a>. <\/p>\n Two of the others, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, have since agreed to lower their prices in the US Medicaid insurance programme for low-income Americans. Shares in Pfizer, the first large pharmaceutical company to announce a pricing deal with the White House in late September, jumped as investors applauded the d\u00e9tente.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wolk said there was \u201cno anxiety whatsoever\u201d in the company about drug pricing, adding that the dialogue with the White House had been \u201cconstructive\u201d.<\/p>\n Wolk added that there had been no change to the company\u2019s July forecast for a tariff hit this year of $200mn.<\/p>\n