By Kate Fodor
NEW YORK, Jul 19 (Reuters Health) - Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer
division announced on Tuesday that it plans to launch Tylenol into Japan's US$10
billion over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare market later this year.
But US tourists should not look for the red-and-white box familiar to
American shoppers. Market research involving about 3,500 Japanese consumers led
to a decision to market the acetaminophen product in Japan in certain forms not
sold in the US and in significantly different packaging.
"The Japanese consumer looks at analgesic products very differently than
here in the US," McNeil Global Franchise Director Peter Bell said. "They don't
treat headaches as much as they'd like because of worries about upset stomach
(and) there's a certain belief that you only take pain medication at the time
that you're eating (because) products available there have the potential to
upset the stomach."
Tylenol, which will be the only 100% acetaminophen OTC product available in
Japan, is unlikely to cause the gastrointestinal side effects that can be
associated with other types of painkillers, J&J claims. "Hopefully, that will
come through in our marketing," Bell said.
In addition, Japanese consumers indicated that the US packaging for the
product was confusing, Bell noted. In Japan, red packaging generally signals an
upper respiratory product; as a result, adult Tylenol products will get new blue
bottles and cartons for the Japanese market, while the children's packaging will
be pink.
J&J will launch Tylenol in the third quarter as a family of four products:
gelcaps, quick-dissolve granules, chewable tablets designed for children aged 5
to 14 and junior strength caplets for children 11 to 14.
The company has been strategizing about the launch with its marketing
partner, Japan's Takeda Chemical Industries, for 3 years, Bell told Reuters
Health.
Under the agreement between the firms, Johnson & Johnson KK, the Japanese
subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, will be responsible for product development,
manufacturing, regulatory issues, importation and marketing. Takeda Chemical
Industries' consumer division will handle distribution and sales.
Tylenol's main competition in the Japanese market will be Bristol-Myers
Squibb's Bufferin, which has been available in Japan for many years, Bell said.
According to Bristol-Myers, Bufferin features a special coating to help protect
against stomach upset.
Johnson & Johnson also reported on Tuesday that its second quarter earnings
beat analysts' estimates, driven by strong sales in the pharmaceutical segment.
The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company's net earnings rose 14.3% over
the same quarter in 1999 to a record $1.3 billion. Earnings per share of 94
cents came in slightly ahead of the 92 cents consensus forecast by analysts
surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial. Revenues for the quarter were up 7.7%
year-over-year at $7.5 billion.
Because the company "did moderately outpace expectations in the quarter,"
J&J is "comfortable with closer to the top end" of Wall Street's $3.35 to $3.40
earnings per share range for the year, J&J CFO Robert Darretta said during a
conference call with investors on Tuesday morning.
Despite taking a hit related to the withdrawal of the heartburn remedy
Propulsid (cisapride), the company's pharmaceutical sales rose 13.9% to $3.2
billion, Robert Wilson, vice chairman of the board, said during the call.
Propulsid, which analysts have estimated to be about a $1 billion drug, was
taken off the market by J&J earlier this year in response to reports linking the
product to cardiac adverse events and deaths. Johnson & Johnson announced the
market withdrawal at the end of March but established a "limited access" program
for patients who had not been helped by other therapies. The limited access
program was scheduled to conclude last Friday.
Despite the loss of revenues from the Propulsid withdrawal, strong sales of
other drugs helped to compensate for the loss, Wilson said.
J&J's over-the-counter segment experienced a "modest decline" of 3% compared
with second quarter 1999, in part reflecting a spike in sales last year related
to the launch of the cholesterol-lowering spread Benecol and other products.
This year, product launches including Motrin Migraine "helped to offset lower
sales in other products," he noted. Sales of Mylanta, driven up by the
introduction of a nighttime formula of the drug, also helped.
However, "inroads made by private label H2 antagonists contributed to a
decrease" in sales of the company's blockbuster OTC heartburn treatment, Pepcid
AC.
Looking forward, Wilson said that the company "expects to hear from the FDA
shortly" with a decision on Reminyl; the company filed a New Drug Application
for the drug, a treatment for moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease, in
September.
Final labeling approval for a new indication for Remicade should be granted
within 6 to 8 weeks, he added. An FDA advisory committee recommended this month
that the drug, which is manufactured by J&J's Centocor unit, be approved for use
in slowing progression of joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis patients under
certain conditions.
