J&J is pivoting its orthopedics business on a positive backdrop in the third quarter

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has made the latest move to downsize across its company in recent years, saying it plans to spin off its orthopedics business into a new, stand-alone company.

While few details have been shared about the spinoff, Johnson & Johnson said the new business will be called DePuy Synthes.

This decision comes despite the modest growth of the company, which already includes DePuy Synthes as one of its components. The unit, which includes artificial hip and knee devices, grew 2.4% during the quarter.

Johnson & Johnson acquired Switzerland-based Synthes for $21 billion in 2012, merging it with its DePuy business.

According to Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Joaquin Duato, this will happen primarily in an effort to “prioritize” its portfolio, while moving its core business strategies to “high-growth markets.”

This split will result in Johnson & Johnson focusing on its remaining pharmaceutical and MedTech segments.

The company expects that the spin-off of its orthopedics business will enhance growth and margins, while facilitating a key focus on cardiovascular surgery, vision and robotics.

Johnson & Johnson expects the separation process to take 18 to 24 months to complete. Once the split is complete, Namal Nwana, former president and founder of Sapphiros, will take over leadership of the company, which will become the “largest and most comprehensive” orthopedic company worldwide, according to J&J.

The split follows the drugmaker’s restructuring of its orthopedics unit in fiscal 2023, which saw the company withdraw from less profitable markets and product lines at a cost of between $700 million and $800 million. Johnson & Johnson will also spin off its consumer health division — which makes popular products like Tylenol and Band-Aid — in 2023.

Meanwhile, Duato noted that he has high hopes for the company’s MedTech business, which he hopes will become “the best MedTech group in the industry.”

The bone split was shared on the same day the pharmaceutical company announced third-quarter results. Johnson & Johnson distanced itself from a major decline in drugmaker profits earlier this year, as the company’s sales jumped 6.8% to $24 billion in the third quarter of 2025.

This upward trend was primarily driven by sales across the innovative medicine portfolio, which accounted for 64% of reported sales in the quarter. This value is up 6.8% from the same time in 2024.

Johnson & Johnson shares opened 1% higher at $192.92 at the market open on Oct. 14 compared to the market close before the announcement. The pharmaceutical company has a market capitalization of $452 billion.

This includes oncology companies such as blockbuster multiple myeloma drug Darzalex (daratumumab) and prostate cancer drug Erliada (apalutamide), which have raised $3.6 billion and $936 million, respectively, for the US drugmaker.

Meanwhile, immunology asset Stelara (ustenkinumab) was still highly profitable for the company, generating $1.5 billion, despite the drug outpacing its revenues. Patent cliff At the beginning of the year.

However, Stelara’s successor, Tremfya (gusselcumab) The company took center stage on the company’s Oct. 14 investor call, where Jennifer Taubert, the company’s executive vice president of innovative medicines, noted that Johnson & Johnson was “optimistic” about the future potential of the IL-23 inhibitor after sales grew 40% to $1.4 billion in the third quarter.

Taubert added that the drug already had half the IL-23 market share before Subcutaneous (SC) approval. from Tremfya, which — in her view — indicates “a lot of growth opportunities” moving forward in autoimmune treatment.

While Johnson & Johnson estimates peak sales for Tremfya at $10 billion, analysts at GlobalData have a slightly more conservative forecast, predicting the treatment will generate $9.1 billion in 2031. GlobalData is Tremfya’s parent company. Pharmaceutical technology.

“J&J Orthopedics on Positive Q3 Back” was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical technologywhich is a trademark of GlobalData.

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