Earnings Labs

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Q1 2019 Earnings Call· Tue, Apr 16, 2019

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to Johnson & Johnson's First Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]. This call is being recorded. If anyone has any objections, you may disconnect at this time. [Operator Instructions]. I would now like to turn the conference over to Johnson & Johnson. You may begin.

Chris DelOrefice

Analyst · Joanne Wuensch with BMO Capital Markets

Good morning. This is Chris DelOrefice, Vice President of Investor Relations for Johnson & Johnson. Welcome to our company's review of business results for the first quarter of 2019. Joining me on today's call is Joe Wolk, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Additionally, I'm pleased to be joined by the leaders of our business segments who will participate in our Q&A session. Joining Joe and I here in New Brunswick are: Ashley McEvoy, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Medical Devices; Thibaut Mongon, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Consumer; Jennifer Taubert, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals. A few logistics before we get into the details. This review is being made available via webcast, accessible through the Investor Relations section of the Johnson & Johnson website at investor.jnj.com, where you can also find additional materials, including today's presentation and associated schedules. Please note that today's presentation includes forward-looking statements. We encourage you to review this cautionary statement regarding such statements included in today's presentation as well as the company's Form 10-K which identifies certain factors that may cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those projected. Our SEC filings, including our 2018 Form 10-K along with reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures utilized for today's discussion to the most comparable GAAP measures, are also available at investor.jnj.com. Several of the products and compounds discussed today are being developed in collaboration with strategic partners or licensed from other companies. This slide acknowledges those relationships. We've made some enhancements to the earnings materials we posted on our website today, including an updated press release format and some additional information in the presentation that we think you will find helpful. These enhanced materials will also allow us to streamline and focus our comments on today's call with the goal of providing more time for engagement with management during the Q&A session. We hope you find these changes useful, and as always, we welcome any feedback so we can continue to provide you with the information in the most effective manner. Regarding today's agenda, Joe will first provide some perspective on our overall results for the first quarter. I will then review the sales and P&L results for the corporation and the 3 business segments. Joe will conclude by providing insights on our cash position, capital allocation deployment and our guidance for 2019 along with some considerations for the second quarter. The remaining time will be available for your questions, and we anticipate the webcast will last about 75 minutes. I'm now pleased to turn the call over to Joe Wolk.

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Great, Chris. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for your interest in Johnson & Johnson. We are very pleased with our strong start to 2019 and are confident in the health of our business. As you've heard us consistently say, our goal is to deliver solid financial and operational performance while also advancing innovation that will have an enduring impact on patients, caregivers and consumers. During the first quarter, we demonstrated our ability to consistently deliver growth while also executing on our long-term strategies. A few high-level comments about each of our segments prior to Chris providing additional franchise or product-level sales insights. Our Pharmaceutical business delivered strong growth across our immunology, oncology, neuroscience and pulmonary hypertension portfolios. The ongoing investments in our pipeline, coupled with our strong commercial execution around new product launches and line extensions, enable us to more than offset erosion from biosimilars and generics. As you've heard us say in previous quarters, our global Pharmaceutical growth continues to be driven by volume rather than price, and we did experience another quarter of negative price. We recently issued our 2018 Janssen U.S. Transparency Report which is now available on our website. We led the industry by publishing this annual report 3 years ago, and we're proud to contribute to the information that health care providers, legislators and the general public can use to facilitate meaningful dialogue on the topic of health care costs. In our Consumer segment, we remain focused on competitive growth. While we observed some broad market softness during the quarter, we are encouraged by our ability to garner share in key areas like OTC, where TYLENOL regained its status as the #1 brand of analgesics as well as NEUTROGENA and OGX within Beauty. In the Medical Device segment, we continue to make progress on our stated goal of improved performance while continuing to enhance market-leading positions in many platforms. Additionally, in support of our long-term objectives for the segment, we are very excited about our recent acquisition of Auris Health which will enhance our digital surgery capabilities. The strength of our first quarter results reinforce the confidence we have in our broad-based business. We continue to manage our portfolio with discipline and make investments across the enterprise that position us well to achieve long-term sustainable growth across 3 vital aspects of health care. I'll now turn the call back to Chris to discuss first quarter sales drivers as well as highlight notable line items in our P&L before I return with some comments regarding our cash position and guidance.

Chris DelOrefice

Analyst · Joanne Wuensch with BMO Capital Markets

Thank you, Joe. Worldwide sales were $20 billion for the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 0.1% versus the first quarter of 2018. Operational sales growth, which excludes the effect of translational currency, increased 3.9% as currency had a negative impact of 3.8 points. In the U.S., sales increased 1.8%. In regions outside the U.S., our reported growth declined by 1.7%. OUS operational sales growth was 6%, with currency negatively impacting our reported OUS results by 7.7 points. Excluding the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures, adjusted operational sales growth was 5.5% worldwide: 3.1% in the U.S. and 7.9% outside the U.S. Turning now to earnings. For the quarter, net earnings were $3.7 billion, and diluted earnings per share was $1.39 versus diluted earnings per share of $1.60 a year ago. Excluding after-tax intangible asset amortization expense and special items for both periods, adjusted net earnings for the quarter were $5.7 billion, and adjusted diluted earnings per share was $2.10 representing increases of 0.5% and 1.9%, respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2018. On an operational basis, adjusted diluted earnings per share grew 5.8%. Beginning with Consumer, I will now comment on business segment sales performance for the first quarter, highlighting items that build upon the slides that you have in front of you. Unless otherwise stated, percentages quoted represent the operational sales change in comparison to the first quarter of 2018 and, therefore, exclude the impact of currency translation. Worldwide Consumer segment sales totaled $3.3 billion, growing at 2.2%. The overall market growth in the categories we participate in slowed to slightly over 1%. Excluding the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures, adjusted operational sales growth was 0.7%. In addition to growing share in key brands, such as TYLENOL and NEUTROGENA, Consumer continues to grow share in…

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Thanks, Chris. With respect to cash, at the end of the first quarter, we had approximately $14 billion of net debt, consisting of approximately $15 billion of cash and marketable securities and approximately $29 billion of debt. A few comments about how we allocated capital in the first quarter, where once again we simultaneously executed across the 4 tenets of our strategy to create shareholder value. Reinvestment in our business continues to be a top priority at Johnson & Johnson. We invested $2.9 billion in R&D in the quarter which represents a 230 basis point increase. This was primarily driven by milestone payments and other investments to advance assets in our pipeline. In M&A, as we previously announced, we strengthened our Consumer business with the acquisition of Dr.Ci:Labo. In addition to R&D and M&A spending, we also used cash in the quarter to continue returning value to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks. We paid a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, totaling $2.4 billion in the quarter. Our dividend will continue to be a key priority going forward. We also made progress on our share repurchase program in the first quarter with another $900 million of the total $5 billion authorization. We are now 36% complete. Now let me provide a few comments on the updates to our guidance for 2019, which we noted in this morning's press release. Our first quarter results have elevated our confidence in our performance, strengthening the outlook for our operational sales growth. As a result, we are increasing our guidance by 50 basis points, reflecting full year adjusted operational sales growth of 2.5% to 3.5% and operational sales growth of 0.5% to 1.5%. The negative impact of translational currency, however, has increased, but we plan to absorb that impact with the…

Chris DelOrefice

Analyst · Joanne Wuensch with BMO Capital Markets

Thank you, Joe. We will now move to the Q&A portion of the webcast. Rob, can you please provide instructions for those on the line wishing to ask a question?

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions]. Your first question comes from Larry Biegelsen with Wells Fargo.

Lawrence Biegelsen

Analyst · Wells Fargo

One for Ashley and one for Joe. Ashley, can you talk about the Auris deal and your surgical robot? What's the plan for rolling out Monarch? How long do you think it will take to integrate Neuwave onto that platform? And I think the price paid made some people feel it was a hedge for the Verb joint venture, because Auris also has a surgical robot in development. So can you confirm that you still plan to launch your surgical robot in 2020? And Joe, just -- I'll ask my second question up front for you. The $2.4 billion to $2.7 billion in other income, can you talk about how that might create a headwind to EPS growth in 2020? How you're thinking about that line item going forward?

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Go ahead, Ashley.

Ashley McEvoy

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Okay. Great. Thanks, Larry, for the question. Listen, we're very pleased to welcome Auris to the J&J family. Just spent some time with them last week at close and to really welcome Dr. Fred Moll, who many of you know is a true pioneer in the field of robotics. We view the acquisition of Auris as highly complementary to our Verb program as well as our Orthopaedics program in Orthotaxy. And what I'm very excited about is the for-revenue product of Monarch. You know all of us as a world leader in open surgery and a world leader in laparoscopic surgery. I'm pleased to share that we're now for revenue in endoluminal surgery, and we plan to take advantage of the world-class robotics expertise, advanced instrumentation our partnership with Verily of creating a connected experience and then, clearly, our very robust global infrastructure to have a very competitive value proposition in the field of digital surgery. Thanks for the question, Larry.

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Great. With respect to the other income number for this year, the new ranges, if you look at the upper end, pretty much on par with what we experienced in 2015. And then in 2016, we had elevated sales growth, and we were able to manage that. As we look towards 2020, we would have the same intentions in mind. So as we anniversary some of the generic or biosimilar erosion later this year, that provides a tailwind into 2020's top line growth. Additionally, we have a number of, I'd say, cost improvement initiatives throughout the organization, most notably in supply chain. We announced a little bit earlier a partnership with Jabil. That's going extremely well. And we use these funds really as a flexibility to invest. So we just spoke about Auris and the investment there. That would have been otherwise dilutive, all things being equal, but we were able to absorb that with the strength of the first quarter and some of the other income proceeds that we think we're going to have throughout the course of 2019. So it's not lost on us, Larry, that we need to manage towards that and provide the consistency in terms of earnings growth that has become expected of Johnson & Johnson.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from David Lewis, Morgan Stanley.

David Lewis

Analyst

Just a couple for me. Joe, I'll start with you and then maybe one for Ashley. Joe, just want to talk about the guidance here for the year. So you're raising guidance earlier in the year than you did last year. So it's an expression of kind of confidence in the year. So what is driving sort of your confidence this early in the year to raise the guidance? And as you talked about the factors which you should expect for 2019, what's changed your mind? Is pharma stronger; Consumer, a little weaker? These broad themes across the segments, does that all still hold? And what's providing the incremental confidence?

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Great. Thanks, David, for the question. Yes, and we are much more confident at this point in the year than maybe we were a year ago and certainly for the balance of 2019, what we thought would occur in January. If you recall, in the January discussion that we had, we forecasted a range of $3 billion to $3.5 billion of generic biosimilar erosion. Probably, the higher end of that range, just based on first quarter results, has subsided a little bit, so it's probably closer to the $3 billion number. It's also, though, attributable to the strengths of the core products. So DARZALEX, IMBRUVICA just having tremendous impact on patients, on the health care system overall, and that's translating into good business for Johnson & Johnson. With Medical Devices, I think we've gotten to that number that begins with a 4, which we've been striving for. And obviously, we're looking for better performance moving forward. But we got there pretty quickly, if you think about where we were in the fourth quarter, about 3.3% I'll call it unadjusted or adjusted growth, leading up to 4.3%. That gives us a little bit more confidence. And so we saw, while there's still more work to do in U.S. Orthopaedics, a quarter of growth, which is a positive sign.

David Lewis

Analyst

Okay, very helpful. And then Ashley, just on the devices, 2 questions here: First is off Larry's question on Auris. When can the investor kind of expect to see a prototype platform? And can you just update us on any regulatory terms, either U.S. or ex U.S.? Can we still think about early 2020 as the first global approval in some market? And then another question, just on Recon, Ashley, just coming off AAOS. Ortho performance is getting better, but the Recon performance took a small step backward this particular quarter. How much of that do you think is attributable to changes in market growth this quarter relative to share dynamics in a worldwide new franchise?

Ashley McEvoy

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Sure. Thanks, David, for the questions. With Auris, the real value is that we actually, as I mentioned their first-generation Monarch, we are for revenue in endoluminal. And we have a lung program at J&J, which is really about preventing, intercepting and curing lung cancer, which is one of the top cancers. And a lot of it is because people get diagnosed at end -- at late stage, where you have -- 18% have a 5-year survival rate. So early detection makes a big deal for better outcomes. And so Monarch will be a really nice enabler of early diagnosis, accessing the very distal parts of the lung for better diagnosis. And you can imagine to Larry's earlier question, really we have an active development program of bringing in potential treatments like ablation or potential dispersal of oncolytic viruses. So that's really generation 1. You mentioned another area that we're assessing, obviously, is digital surgery for broader indications in General Surgery as well as in Orthopaedics. And again, I would say we view the Auris acquisition as highly complementary to our Verb program. I was at Verb just last week, and I'm pleased with how they're knocking down risk every day. They have completed all preclinical procedural developments for several procedures. They've engaged with hundreds of surgeons. They're engaging right now with notified bodies on the regulatory pathways. So I would say, stay tuned. We're going to take the best insight from Dr. Fred Moll and really have him assess both of these programs and make sure that we have a highly differentiated value proposition at launch.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from Chris Schott with JPMorgan.

Christopher Schott

Analyst · JPMorgan

My first one's a broader one on the pharma market. I'd just be interested in your views on Medicare Part D reform and a potential shift away from drug rebates over time. I guess specifically, how do you think about the potential change to Part D as it relates to J&J? And longer term, do you see the broader U.S. market including the commercial market, moving more towards a net pricing dynamic versus this current kind of gross price and rebate structure as we think about, let's say, the next 3 to 5 years? My second question was on TREMFYA. Just a little bit more color in terms of how you're seeing the competitive landscape in psoriasis shaping up as we think about IL-23s, IL-17s and the TNFs. As well as how you're thinking about AbbVie's risankizumab launch later this year as you think about your kind of positioning within the IL-23s?

Jennifer Taubert

Analyst · JPMorgan

Chris, it's Jennifer. The first piece -- the first part of your question, Chris, was really around Medicare Part D and rebate reform. And as we take a look at it, we're really supportive of rebate reform and finding ways to actually get those dollars in discounts and rebates actually back to the patient. Out-of-pocket costs, as you know, are really one of the things that are causing a lot of pain in the marketplace right now. And so we're supportive of the administration's efforts on rebate reform, and we're taking a look at how we can actually implement that in a pretty rapid way. So it's going to depend on what ultimately comes out, but we're looking at it closely and believe that we'll be well poised to be able to move into the marketplace following sort of new market dynamics with rebate reform. We really look forward to patients being able to have more affordable out-of-pocket costs. In terms of TREMFYA, we had a really terrific quarter with TREMFYA with $217 million globally. As we've talked about the product, it's performing really well on the market. And all of our clinical data and comparative data continue to reinforce what we're seeing, and this is really being a true leading brand in psoriasis. So as you recall, we've got head-to-head superiority versus Humira. We got superiority versus STELARA in patients with -- that are STELARA-inadequate responders. And most recently, we've announced our data that shows superior efficacy versus Cosentyx at PASI 90 at 48 weeks. And so we've really been able to demonstrate that the product performs not only rapidly for patients but that it's got great durability as well. And both together are what's most important to both providers as well as to patients. I think importantly, as well, we now have data out through 3 years, demonstrating really consistency of effect and believe that, that's going to be good for us whether we're competing versus the IL-17, whether we're competing versus the old anti-TNF or whether we're competing against the upcoming IL-23s that are coming. So we've got a very a strong portfolio of data there to help us continue to succeed.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Joanne Wuensch with BMO Capital Markets.

Joanne Wuensch

Analyst · Joanne Wuensch with BMO Capital Markets

I'd like to turn just for a moment to expense items and the headwinds that you'll be seeing in the Pharmaceutical business throughout the rest of the year. How should we think about the impact on the gross margins?

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Joanne Wuensch with BMO Capital Markets

Joanne, this is Joe. First of all, let me just say nice job on TV this morning. You did great. Well, I'll say with expense one, I would go to our guidance where we say we will see slight improvement. We'll always look for opportunities to invest. But I think a slight improvement is where we're targeting for this year. Remember last year, we improved about 210 basis points on operating margins, and then given the current EPS growth rate to sales growth ratio, we think that's extremely healthy. So we're going to look for areas to invest. While we have these other cost initiatives, I would say, closer to their infancy, the supply chain one that I mentioned in my earlier reply is just getting started. We'll start to see the impact of that in 2020 and beyond.

Joanne Wuensch

Analyst · Joanne Wuensch with BMO Capital Markets

Terrific. And as my second question. I just want to drill down a little bit more on knees because that one seems to be one of the components in Orthopaedics that's lagging somewhat, and we have not just one but two robotic knee systems on the market. How do we think about that turning before your own system arrives at the end of next year?

Ashley McEvoy

Analyst · Joanne Wuensch with BMO Capital Markets

Thank, Joanne. This is Ashley. Thanks for the question. And David, forgive me, I wasn't answering knees. But I would say that we consider our performance in knees as stabilizing. We posted a 2% decline in the quarter. It was down about 2% in the United States which is pretty consistent with prior quarters. We did experience a decline OUS predominantly driven by EMEA, which included really due to predominantly onetimers. So we would say stable. What we're committing to do is really get the news out about ATTUNE's knee performance. We've got 5-year data now in 4 registries. So we're getting the news out at the congresses. I think you saw that in Las Vegas. Our ATTUNE Revision is performing quite well. It's up 10%, and we plan to launch our cementless offering later this year. And then, clearly, I think if you were in Las Vegas, you saw a peak at our robotics offering at the AAOS. And that combination, we believe, is what will eventually get us to above-market performance. In the interim, we will be challenged until we get our cementless out there, we get our robot out there.

Chris DelOrefice

Analyst · Joanne Wuensch with BMO Capital Markets

Thanks, Ashley. Maybe just to build on Ashley's comment, we would have experienced positive growth OUS. That comp she referenced was worth a little over 250 basis points, just to put that in context for you.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from Bob Hopkins with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Robert Hopkins

Analyst · Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Just two quick questions. First, Joe, I just wanted to clarify the guidance increase on revenue growth of 50 basis points. Is that basically the net of -- what you just talked about was the $3 billion to $3.5 billion headwind being a little bit better, strong core pharma growth, and then obviously, also the price increase in pharma that you talked about? Are those the things that are different in the quarter in the guidance?

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Bank of America Merrill Lynch

So Bob, I would say, that's largely it. I'm not sure you referenced to a price increase. We actually experienced a price decrease again in the quarter overall, other than the PPA adjustment that Chris referenced in his commentary. So it is a stronger outlook with respect to the pharmas group, driven by the core portfolio as well as those products not being as impacted as quickly. With respect to generics and biosimilar erosion, I'd say Medical Device is probably a tick stronger than we thought back in January. And in Consumer, we're continuing to monitor. Again, we feel very good about the share levels that we attained, and we do think there might be a slight market contraction. And I don't know, maybe, Thibaut, you can speak to that for -- with a few words?

Thibaut Mongon

Analyst · Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Yes. Absolutely, Joe. We saw in the first quarter a contraction of the market compared to what we experienced in the second half of 2018. Looking into 2019, we expect the market to be down a little bit. But our estimate for the full year growth of the market in which we compete is around 2% for the full year.

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Yes. And just to maybe put some further context around those numbers, Bob. It was about 1.1% growth in the quarter for the categories in which we compete. The second half of last year is closer to 2.5% to 2.7%. So we did see a deceleration. We'll see if it's temporary or something that's much more sustainable. Do you have another question, Bob?

Robert Hopkins

Analyst · Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Yes. Just one quick one. One question on Vision care, which sort of stood out as a positive result in the quarter. I'm just curious was the better contact lens growth in Q1 in your view more market related or market share related. And I'm just wondering if you could provide any color on the new contact lens that you're referring to in terms of just putting it in perspective for us of how meaningful maybe increasing growth that could drive for that franchise.

Ashley McEvoy

Analyst · Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Sure. Thanks, Bob. It's Ashley. We have to get you to try our new OASYS TRANSITIONS with light management. A lot of our baseball players in opening season have started to use it. But yes, we're pleased with our performance in contact lenses, as I mentioned about 6%. It's had about 3 years of consistent above-market performance. Very strong OUS performance as well in contact lens, and really innovation has been driving that. So the market has been healthy. We've been performing a bit above the market, so we've been gaining market share in our contact lens business. And really, emerging markets is driving that as well as innovation and meaningful innovation in some of the developed markets. And I think we just shared that we just completed Phase III trials for our allergy, our drug-eluting contact lens with an antihistamine. So we expect that to come to market in 2020.

Operator

Operator

Next question is from the line of Danielle Antalffy with SVP Leerink.

Danielle Antalffy

Analyst · Danielle Antalffy with SVP Leerink

I just want to follow up on some of the questions around the updated guidance. I mean, you came -- it seems like the momentum was sustained versus Q4 on this with a whole quarter of ZYTIGA. And I understand, Joe, what you said about there are some things that got a little bit better, some things that have posted maybe incrementally a little bit worse, i.e., on the Consumer side. But it feels like -- and I appreciate comps get harder as we move through the year. But the -- it looks like the guidance suggests still a meaningful step-down on that operational adjusted sales growth number. And so I guess, I'm just pushing a little bit. It sounds like is it right to read your updated guidance as you're updating partially for the outperformance that we saw in Q1. But maybe this gives you a little bit more confidence of the potential upside because, again, the deceleration suggest that from here, after what was a pretty strong Q1, I would argue is pretty significant. So just trying to get a little bit more from you on what's reflected there.

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Danielle Antalffy with SVP Leerink

Okay, Danielle. So we are more confident than what we were in January. That should be clear with the guidance. In terms of further confidence, we'll see how the year unfolds. Some things that we haven't mentioned yet is one, ZYTIGA, while we held on pretty good for a small molecule in the first quarter, given usual erosion rates, we do expect that to accelerate. And recall, that's going to be a comparison against a brand that was growing throughout 2018. You also have TRACLEER and VELCADE that will probably see generics in the coming months. And PROCRIT has had some activity in terms of erosion, but the competitor or the generic entry there had some manufacturing entries which have now been remediated, as we understand. So we're taking all those into account in the guidance we're providing today.

Danielle Antalffy

Analyst · Danielle Antalffy with SVP Leerink

And a quick follow-up on the Consumer side of things. Just wondering, it seems like Q1 tends to be -- and maybe I'm misremembering, but seems like Q1 tends to have been a little bit weak for you guys in the past. Is there some dynamic in the market that has changed that causes the softer Q1 versus the back half of the year? It sounds like you're calling out more market contraction versus anything J&J-specific. Any color there?

Thibaut Mongon

Analyst · Danielle Antalffy with SVP Leerink

Yes. Thank you for the question, Danielle. It's true that each quarter is different in the Consumer business due to macro factors and also the seasonality of our business. So our Q1 result can be affected, for example, by the season in cold and flu segments. This year, we saw soft cold and flu seasons in some parts of the world, and that can have an impact on the quarter. That's what happened in Q1, for example. So yes, macro and seasonal effects have an impact on the quarter-to-quarter performance.

Operator

Operator

Your next question is from Josh Jennings with Cowen and Company.

Joshua Jennings

Analyst · Cowen and Company

Two for Jennifer. Just first on esketamine, thanks for some of the details on the prepared remarks by Chris. I wonder if you could give any incremental color. I think you mentioned 475 centers are already certified, first dose to a patient provided in the commercial setting. Anything else you can help share? And maybe just to start with, just as one trigger, Jennifer, how should we think about the centers certification ramp going over the course of 2019 and into 2020? Any other color you can share? And then the second question is just on cardiovascular and other. XARELTO, appreciate the details on the doughnut hole and the decline in Q1, but there's some positive things on the horizon there including the filing for prevention of DVT in medically ill patients. But just what's the outlook there for XARELTO in terms of returning to growth? And then lastly, in the same category, INVOKANA, any expectations in terms of whether the CREDENCE data can turn that franchise around?

Jennifer Taubert

Analyst · Cowen and Company

Thanks. So yes, we received approval and launched SPRAVATO, which is esketamine, in the first quarter, and that was following the breakthrough therapy designations. And so it was approved for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression along with an oral antidepressant in patients who've tried 2 or more antidepressant therapies in that current episode. The product is also available with a REMS program, as anticipated. And as part of that REMS program, it requires that we do certify the sites. And then we also enroll patients in the REMS program prior to administration. So the interest in SPRAVATO has been really high, and that is across insurance plans, providers as well as patients. And actually, a quick update. I know we spoke about the 465 center certification earlier today, but the number -- I just got some new numbers. It's actually up as high as 800 sites that have now been certified and are approved to begin treating patients. Importantly, we've actually got a number of patients who have actually been dosed with the product and some that actually have had multiple doses successfully. So we believe that we're off to a very, very strong start with SPRAVATO, and that it is going to be an important growth driver for us. The sites, because of the REMS program, are an important component. That's where the patients will need to go for treatment. And right now, with that number up as 800 sites already certified, we're well on track with our plans for the year there. So looking forward to being able to hopefully treat a large number of patients with SPRAVATO to help them with their treatment-resistant depression. So early days still. Realize that it's only been on the market a few weeks, but we're very encouraged by the signs that…

Operator

Operator

Next question comes from Geoff Meacham with Barclays.

Geoffrey Meacham

Analyst · Barclays

Just have a few. In PAH, we're coming up on two 2 years post-closing Actelion. So just curious, when we think about the UPTRAVI trajectory, are there commercial drivers, say, geographically or share, that are notable for the next year? So maybe how is that different than your original expectation? And then, Joe, in pharma this year, you talked about the headwinds from generics and biosimilars. The new launches may take some time or change the growth profile back to what you guys view as above market. So maybe at a higher level, would you view 2019 as a trough? Or is there risk that you think the deceleration in pharma could persist going into 2020?

Jennifer Taubert

Analyst · Barclays

I'll go ahead and start off on Actelion. So our total pulmonary hypertension portfolio grew by double digits in the first quarter, so an increase of 15%. But if you go a little bit deeper on that together, OPSUMIT and UPTRAVI delivered over $500 million in sales. And OPSUMIT had growth of 17%, and UPTRAVI had growth of 43%. So we do think that UPTRAVI is a significant driver for that business for us going forward. And also, as we anticipated when we did the deal originally, the strong growth that we're seeing with UPTRAVI is really coming from a few different areas: continued share gains, but also greater market penetration and earlier use. I believe as we put our commercial capabilities across these assets and with UPTRAVI being the newest one, we continue to get approval and get not only registration but access to reimbursement for the asset globally, which is having a lift. We're selling the product in as really the first oral PRA and really trying to drive earlier and earlier usage in the PAH treatment continuum, because we believe the best thing for patients is more aggressive treatment and earlier on in therapy. And so it's really showing in the results that we've seen and with that 43% growth.

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Barclays

Great. Thanks, Jennifer. And then, Geoff, to answer your second question, in terms of a trough. I would say 2019 is when we would expect the largest impact from generic or biosimilar erosion. That's why we were so specific in January to outline that impact. We'll continue to see great core growth. If you look at immunology, STELARA still has market opportunities within Crohn's disease as well as some other indications. TREMFYA, most patients on psoriasis are still not treated with a biologic, so we've got a great opportunity there. Oncology will still be significant with IMBRUVICA and DARZALEX. And remember outside the U.S., we still have ZYTIGA exclusivity, so we're in good shape there, the Actelion assets that Jennifer just referenced and the XARELTO indications. So I would see 2019 as a trough, and once we anniversary some of these patent losses, we should be even stronger than we were in the first quarter and back to that well above-market projection for Pharmaceutical.

Operator

Operator

The next question is from the line of Vamil Divan of Crédit Suisse.

Vamil Divan

Analyst

So just a couple, if I could. One high-level one on pharma, and following up on Chris' earlier question around rebate reform. And I guess I'm -- just the question I'm getting at, and I think investors are also wondering about, is how to think about the actual list prices if the safe harbor is removed from Part D. So is it safe to assume that the list price will come down to where net prices currently are? Or is it possible that the list prices may end up at higher price than where the net prices currently are in the market? And then my second question, just a specific one. I apologize if I missed this in your prepared remarks. But in terms of REMICADE and the biosimilar impact, can you just share what percentage of the infliximab market you still have with the brand?

Jennifer Taubert

Analyst · JPMorgan

Sure. Why don't I start off...

Chris DelOrefice

Analyst · Joanne Wuensch with BMO Capital Markets

Let me look that one up, as you start with the first question.

Jennifer Taubert

Analyst · JPMorgan

Okay. I was going to say on the REMICADE one. I know I've got that one. So we are continuing to see erosion of REMICADE, as expected. But if we take a look, our team has been really competing in the marketplace to try to ensure that patients who would like to stay on REMICADE have the access and the availability to do so. And right now, we've been able to retain about 92% of the volume share for infliximab, but obviously, albeit at a lower and a very competitive price in the market. In terms of rebate reform, I think we're going to have to wait and see what ultimately is going to come forward in terms of the rebate rule. There are some options that could include patients essentially having some of that rebate flow through at the pharmacy. There's others that would require essentially -- or that would involve lowering list prices going forward. I think it's really important, as you think about our business, 100% of our growth and the robust growth that we've seen, not only in this first quarter but also last year or before, is due to volume, not due to price. So, however, we move forward, with whatever type of rebate reform, we do believe it's going to be positive for patients, help patient out-of-pocket costs. And that, as J&J and based on our business model, we're going to be really well poised to succeed in that environment. So again, I mentioned earlier, we're working through a number of different scenarios, and we'll have to see what ultimately comes forward. But we believe that we're really well positioned to be able to continue to succeed in that environment.

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Yes. Vamil, just to put a number or 2 around that. So last year, our U.S. Pharmaceutical business had $21 billion in discounts. We experienced net price decrease of 6.8%, yet we still had 8% growth. Unfortunately, those increased discounts aren't getting to the patients who go to the pharmacy on a monthly basis. They're experiencing elevated co-pays from what they had at least 3 or 5 years ago and even more recently. So that's where the system really needs to be fixed. But that should not have an impact on really how we drive our growth, and that's through innovation of unmet medical needs.

Operator

Operator

Next question will be coming from Jayson Bedford with Raymond James.

Jayson Bedford

Analyst · Raymond James

Just a couple. On med devices, in response to an earlier question, Joe, you mentioned that you're looking for better performance going forward. Just for context, is the baseline now the 1Q growth of 4.3%? Or is your comment related to the 3.2% growth in '18?

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Raymond James

So yes, I guess I think is a quick answer to that one, Jayson. Ashley is smiling at me. We want to see better performance. It's really benchmarked or anchored in our statement last year on our Medical Device in Analyst day, where we want to be at or above market by 2020. You've seen a consistent trajectory each and every quarter. So whether we're going to say 4.3% is now the new bar, we'll have to see how the quarters play out. But we're really looking at that 2020 horizon to make sure that we're at market performance or better.

Ashley McEvoy

Analyst · Raymond James

Yes, and I would just add, Jayson, to the question. Just to say, listen, the quarters aren't necessarily always linear. But consistent with what we did in '18 of improving year-over-year growth acceleration, that's absolutely what we plan to achieve in 2019.

Jayson Bedford

Analyst · Raymond James

Okay. That's helpful. Just on Consumer, obviously a bit more of a challenging quarter. Looks like your expectation for market growth is down about 100 basis points. I appreciate the seasonal dynamics, but what do you think is the source of the softness? Is it geographic in nature? Is there price dynamic? Just a little more color there.

Thibaut Mongon

Analyst · Raymond James

Yes. Thank you for the question. We see a deceleration in the first quarter. As I said, some of that is related to the seasonality and the structure of our portfolio. If you look at our OTC business, while we are very pleased with our performance overall for the quarter, we saw some softness due to the cold and flu season in Russia and Western Europe. If you look at Beauty, we see some deceleration in the market, but we continue to outperform the market in important geographies for us, like the United States. Baby is another category where we saw some deceleration in this winter, which affects our winter-related products. So it's really seasonality. We also see some impact of destocking in some retailers and some geographies. So I would say it's broadly based across geographies. Having said that, we expect the softness expected in Q1 to rebound in the balance of the year to hit our projected growth for the markets where we compete, of 2% for the year.

Chris DelOrefice

Analyst · Raymond James

Great. Thank you, Jayson. Appreciate the question. Thanks to everyone for your questions and your continued interest in our company. Apologies to those we couldn't get to because of time, but don't hesitate to reach out to the Investor Relations team as needed. I do want to remind you that our Pharmaceutical business review in New Brunswick is on May 15, and we look forward to seeing all of you there. I will now turn the call back to Joe for some brief closing remarks.

Joseph Wolk

Analyst · Raymond James

Thank you, Chris, and thanks to all of you who participated in or listened to today's webcast. We hope you enjoyed the expanded management Q&A panel and that you sensed the confidence we have in our 2019 outlook which should set us up well for even better performance in 2020 and beyond. As Chris referenced, we look forward to seeing many of you at our Pharmaceutical business review day. Have a great day.

Operator

Operator

This concludes today's Johnson & Johnson First Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call. You may now disconnect.