Johnson & Johnson is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. His corona vaccine should be a beacon of hope in the pandemic. But it doesn’t keep what it promises. And besides, the company has to face a dubious wave of lawsuits.
It was at the end of February when the US authorities granted emergency approval to the Janssen corona vaccine from the US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (J&J). Janssen was the third musketeer in the fight against the virus. The active ingredients were previously approved by Moderna and Biontech / Pfizer.
J&J CEO Alex Gorsky celebrated the decision of the FDA and CDC as a “golden moment”. Speaking to journalists from CBS News, Gorsky was optimistic that his vaccine against the coronavirus would be in high demand. The studies carried out had shown that the vaccine reliably protected against the virus mutations circulating at the time, including from Brazil and South Africa. At the same time, and this is particularly important, none of the test subjects suffered from a severe course, had to be hospitalized or died of the virus. This did not differ much of the vaccine from its competitors.
But one detail made the vaccine special. The people only have to endure a spade, “after that they are through,” reported Gorsky euphorically. He was optimistic that many people would be vaccinated with his substance out of convenience. The vaccine was also administered in Europe and Germany.
The corona business helped the group to achieve a new size. J&J is a publicly traded pharmaceutical and consumer goods company. The pharmaceutical division made the company the top-selling drug manufacturer in the world in 2020. In October, the company raised its revenue expectations to between $ 94.1 billion and $ 94.6 billion. This corresponds to an increase of around 14 percent. This year, too, the group has been able to defend its place on the podium so far. But the question is whether this will still be the case next year. Because the company is involved in various disputes and is about to end. The vaccine only plays a part in this.
Dramatic but rare side effects
The euphoria about the new vaccine in the spring only lasted for a short time. Rare blood clots, which questioned the usefulness of the vaccination, turned out to be mood killers. Six women between the ages of 18 and 60 suffered a sinus vein thrombosis after the vaccination. The US suspended the administration of the vaccine. At the same time, the government imposed a production stop. At the Baltimore plant, where both J&J and Astrazeneca had their active ingredients manufactured, the vaccines were mixed up – and 15 million doses made unusable.
In the meantime, the company has tried to address concerns about the rare but dramatic side effects. For this purpose, Gorsky tried to form an alliance with the other pharmaceutical companies. But only Astrazeneca was interested in the collaboration, as the “Wall Street Journal” reported. Moderna and Pfizer, however, feared that their products could fall into disrepute if they were named with their competitors. The active ingredient of Astrazeneca also hit the headlines in the spring because of the rare cerebral vein thrombosis as a side effect.
The vaccine is now being administered again by J&J in the USA. Citizens in Germany can also be vaccinated with it. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the vector active ingredient is considered “safe and effective”. However, in this country it is only recommended for people over 60 because of the side effects. Compared to competitors from Biontech, Moderna and Astrazeneca, the vaccine also provides significantly less protection against infection. The Stiko relies on approval studies, according to which J&J protects almost 67 percent from infection. The active ingredients from Moderna and Biontech protect 95 percent after the second vaccination, Astrazeneca protects up to 80 percent against corona infection.
As several studies have shown, the vaccination protection is decreasing again. This is also the case with J&J. There the effectiveness after six months is about 13 percent, is practically nonexistent. CEO Alex Gorsky’s promise that people would only have to be vaccinated once is no longer valid. Most recently, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the company’s application and is now recommending the Janssen vaccine for boosting the vaccination. Compared to the other active ingredients, however, this has to be done after two months.
J&J hardly relevant for vaccination campaign
The vaccine has not been convincing to this day. J&J therefore plays a subordinate role in the vaccination campaign in the USA. For a total of 284 million inoculated cans from Biontech and 186 million cans of Moderna, there are only 17 million cans of J&J. It looks similar in Germany. While more than 109 million doses of Biontech’s vaccine were delivered, J&J only delivered around five million.
The US agency CDC is now recommending that vaccines from Biontech and Moderna be preferred to those from J&J. Compared to the mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Biontech, the vaccine from J&J is less effective and carries higher health risks, said CDC expert Sara Oliver. An independent committee of experts had previously recommended avoiding the J&J vaccine because of the risk of rare blood clots. As of December 9, the CDC had counted nine deaths. By the end of August, 54 cases of thrombosis had been registered and 36 people had to be treated in an intensive care unit. Women between the ages of 18 and 49 have a particularly high risk. But there were also two men among the dead.
J&J recently emphasized that its corona vaccine is a “life-saving tool for people in high-risk groups”. The experts on the CDC Advisory Board also agreed that no recommendation should be made against the J&J vaccine, as this would send a negative signal to countries where the vaccine might be the only option.
However, the active ingredients from Moderna and Biontech are not without risks. On Friday, a large-scale study was published in the medical journal “British Medical Journal”, according to which the Moderna vaccine carries a low risk of mostly non-serious heart problems. According to the study, the risk of heart muscle or pericardial inflammation is particularly increased in people aged 12 to 39 years. The course of the disease was therefore mostly mild. A low risk for women was also confirmed at Biontech.
J & J’s sideshow
The active ingredient against the coronavirus is not the only reason for the mess J&J is currently in. The group is said to be involved in the opioid crisis in the US, among other things. The legal battle has been going on for years. J&J and three other corporations are accused of having contributed to the rampant drug addiction in the US with pain killers. For this purpose, the corporations are said to have marketed drugs, but not to have drawn attention to the risk of addiction. In the opioid crisis, approximately 500,000 US citizens died from overdoses on prescription pain relievers and illicit drugs between 1999 and 2019.
After the latest scandal, the company is even threatened with extinction. Most recently, the company was sued over baby powder. This is said to be contaminated with asbestos and can possibly cause ovarian cancer. The group is said to have known about it. Since 2015, tens of thousands of women have made the group responsible for their illnesses. A total of 38,000 lawsuits have been filed so far – the company had paid $ 2.5 billion so far. Experts believe that more lawsuits could be filed and that the costs for the company could rise.
In light of this, J&J filed for bankruptcy a few weeks ago. However, this only concerns the “LTL Management” division, which deals with the baby powder lawsuit. According to observers, bankruptcy is a trick to avoid having to settle the outstanding and possibly subsequent payments in the baby powder scandal. However, this procedure, also known as the “Texas Two-Step”, is only possible in some US states – for example in North Carolina, where J&J is headquartered. However, it is questionable whether the company can get away with it. Several lawyers have already filed a lawsuit over this.
Sources:Federal Ministry of Health, Stiko, CBS News, Manager Magazin, “Wall Street Journal”, Brand Financee, NBC News, “Ärzteblatt”, “Jama”, DPA, AFP