J&J touts a blockbuster-rich pipeline with 10 filings on the horizon

J&J Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels

Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) says it's on track to submit more than 10 new drugs for FDA approval over the next four years, and the company believes each of those contenders has the potential to bring in $1 billion in peak revenue.

Meeting with analysts and investors on Wednesday, J&J unveiled its vision for the near term, touting its 19 successful drug launches since 2009 as evidence that it's on an R&D hot streak. Now the New Jersey drugmaker says it's at the cusp of a bright future, touting its late-stage pipeline of treatments for cancer and inflammatory disease.

Leading the way among those would-be billion-sellers is daratumumab, a breakthrough-designated multiple myeloma treatment J&J plans to submit for approval this year. Behind that are sirukumab, an antibody for rheumatoid arthritis, and the psoriasis-treating guselkumab, each in the midst of Phase III development in blockbuster indications.

J&J is also working up late-stage treatments for depression, respiratory syncytial virus, osteoarthritic pain, influenza, insomnia, hepatitis C and a slew of cancers, comprising a wide pipeline of in-house, in-licensed and acquired assets the company believes can come through in Phase III.

That stable of candidates is a testament to what J&J calls its best-in-pharma R&D productivity, and Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels said the company is looking past 2019 with a crop of promising early-stage assets.

"Our innovation strategy has delivered transformational products for patients and also created a cycle of success that positions us for continued growth across the entire Johnson & Johnson enterprise," Stoffels said in a statement. "With a single-minded focus on unmet medical need and true differentiation, we've built an industry-leading pipeline to improve and extend people's lives and also create value for society and our business."

- read the statement