(Reuters) – Drug and medical device maker Johnson & Johnson beat first-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday and raised its full-year 2023 profit forecast, building on its new cancer treatments and its multiple myeloma drug Darzalex to mitigate the effects of declining demand for its older drugs.

J&J stock was up more than 2% in pre-market trading.

Darzalex and new cancer treatments including Carvykti and Tecvayli are key to the company reaching its sales target of around $60 billion (€54.69 billion) by 2025, as Older treatments, such as Stelara, a treatment for Crohn’s disease, are facing looming competition from generics.

J&J, which is in the process of separating its consumer healthcare business, suffered a loss of 3 cents per share on a one-off charge related to the bankruptcy of a subsidiary intended to resolve litigation over its talc business.

The company previously said it would take a $6.9 billion charge related to the bankruptcy.

The pharmaceutical giant reported sales of 2.44 billion for its key drug Stelara in the quarter, beating analysts’ average estimate of $2.41 billion.

For the period, J&J reported adjusted earnings of $2.68 per share, beating the consensus of $2.50, supported by strong sales across all of its businesses, including medical devices and consumer healthcare products.

The group now expects to make adjusted earnings of between $10.60 and $10.70 per share in 2023, down from a previous forecast of between $10.45 and $10.65 per share.

Analysts had expected full-year earnings of $10.51 per share, according to Refinitiv.

(Report Bhanvi Satija and Manas Mishra in Bangalore; Lina Golovnya, edited by Blandine Hénault)

Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters