J&J Investors Are Fixated on Vaccines Like Everyone Else
A setback in the drug giant’s Covid-19 trial overshadowed good financial results. It’s not the first and won’t be the last.
Vaccine development takes time. Holding out for immediate Covid shot salvation will likely bring disappointment.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThe world just got another reminder that vaccine development isn't easy. Johnson & Johnson announced Monday that it was pausing the 60,000-person trial of its Covid-19 vaccine three weeks after it started because of an unexplained illness in a participant. The news comes a month after AstraZeneca Plc announced its own pause for a similar reason. That vaccine has yet to resume its trial in the U.S., though studies have restarted in other countries.
The news cast a shadow on J&J's third-quarter earnings Tuesday, which showed an otherwise improving business. A better-than-expected recovery for medical devices, the unit hit hardest by Covid-related care slowdowns, helped it beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly sales and raise full-year guidance. The vaccine news seems to have outweighed that in investor’s minds, though it didn't entirely overwhelm it, with J&J shares falling 2% in morning trading.