Johnson & Johnson consistently has a deep pipeline of internal drug candidates to keep its portfolio growing. But the pharma giant is also an illustrious acquirer and licensor of external products, and some purchases are beginning to pay off. A drug-device combo from the 2019 acquisition of Taris Biomedical, for instance, just gained approval last month in bladder cancer and is expected to reach $5 billion in annual sales at its peak. And the more recent acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies this year brought the neuroscience treatment Caplyta to J&J, where it could reach a sales peak of $5 billion as well.

J&J’s success illustrates why Big Pharma should leverage strong cash positions to pursue new technology — and the competition is getting fierce, according to a recent report from J.P. Morgan. Companies with a market cap above $50 billion are scrambling to get their hands on earlier-stage therapeutic programs, and in the third quarter, median upfront payments for phase 1 and preclinical assets each more than doubled what they were in 2024.

As J&J develops its pipeline and picks up key programs from the external landscape, the company is once again slimming down by shedding its orthopedics business, leaving pharmaceutical products with even more impact in the remaining portfolio. Today, we’re looking at the state of the company’s pharma pillars and what they mean for J&J’s success moving forward.

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