Johnson & Johnson JNJ has a strong research and development (R&D) pipeline, with primary focus areas being immunology, oncology and neuroscience.
J&J rapidly advanced its pipeline in the past year, attaining significant clinical and regulatory milestones that will help drive growth through the back half of the decade. In 2025, J&J invested more than $32 billion in R&D and mergers and acquisitions, including the acquisitions of Intra-Cellular Therapies and Halda Therapeutics.
In 2025, it gained approval for new products like Inlexzoh/TAR-200, a first-of-its-kind drug-releasing system, for treating high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and Imaavy (nipocalimab) for treating generalized myasthenia gravis.
Nipocalimab, an FcRn blocker, is also being evaluated for various immune-mediated conditions. It is under review in the United States for warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia, in late-stage studies for hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, and Sjogren’s disease, and in mid-stage studies for idiopathic inflammatory myopathy and systemic lupus erythematosus. J&J believes that nipocalimab has a pipeline-in-a-product potential.
The positive trend of new drug approvals continued in 2026 with the FDA approving J&J and partner Protagonist Therapeutics’ PTGX Icotyde (icotrokinra), an oral targeted peptide inhibitor of the IL-23 receptor, for treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO) in the United States in March. J&J believes that Icotyde/icotrokinra has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of plaque psoriasis with a once-daily pill, whereas most currently available effective options for treating plaque psoriasis are injectables, such as AbbVie’s ABBV popular injection, Skyrizi, and J&J’s own injection, Tremfya.
Icotyde offers a compelling advantage over existing plaque psoriasis treatments by combining biologic-level precision with the convenience of an oral pill. Unlike injectable IL-23 biologics, such as AbbVie’s Skyrizi and Tremfya, it eliminates the need for injections, improving patient comfort and adherence. Icotrokinra is also being evaluated in phase III studies for ulcerative colitis and psoriatic arthritis and in phase II for Crohn’s Disease. It has the potential to be J&J’s largest product ever, with $10 billion in sales potential.
J&J’s new cancer drugs, Carvykti, Tecvayli, Talvey and Rybrevant/Lazcluze are contributing significantly to top-line growth driven by market share gains. Combined, they generated $1.2 billion in sales in the first quarter of 2026. J&J’s acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies added antidepressant drug, Caplyta, to its neuroscience portfolio, which is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia, depression in both bipolar 1 and 2, and major depressive disorder. Caplyta generated $270 million in sales in the first quarter.
J&J believes 10 of its new products/pipeline candidates in the Innovative Medicine segment have the potential to deliver peak sales of $5 billion, including Talvey, Tecvayli, Imaavy, Caplyta, Inlexzo, Rybrevant plus Lazcluze and Icotyde.
A key pipeline candidate is JNJ-4804, a co-antibody therapeutic being developed in phase II studies for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
Backed by regular pipeline success, J&J expects a more pronounced impact from new products in 2026 than in 2025. J&J expects that contributions from its new product launches across oncology, immunology and neuroscience will increase as the year progresses.
As regards its MedTech segment, increased adoption of newly launched products across Cardiovascular, Surgery and Vision portfolios is expected to result in better growth in 2026 than 2025 levels. Some key products under regulatory review or in late-stage development are OTTAVA robotic surgery system, J&J’s next-generation soft-tissue surgical robot and VARIPULSE Pro, an advanced Pulsed Field Ablation platform. VARIPULSE Pro was launched in the EU in April.
JNJ’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
J&J’s shares have outperformed the industry over the past year. The stock has risen 50.2% in the past year compared with 21.2% appreciation of the industry.
From a valuation standpoint, J&J is slightly expensive. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 19.14 forward earnings, higher than 16.74 for the industry. The stock is also trading above its five-year mean of 15.65.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings has risen from $11.54 to $11.57 over the past 60 days, while that for 2027 earnings has gone up from $12.44 per share to $12.58 over the same time frame.
J&J has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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