NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.,
Oct. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/
-- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) today announced it has
committed to ensuring more than $500
million is dedicated to world class research &
development and delivery programs over the next four years to
accelerate global efforts to eliminate HIV and tuberculosis (TB) by
2030. As one of the world's largest healthcare companies,
Johnson & Johnson is deeply engaged in global health
innovation, working closely with governments and strategic partners
to improve the health and well-being of more people in more places
around the world.
"No single institution can tackle the historic challenge of
eliminating an infectious disease," said Paul Stoffels, MD, Vice Chairman of the
Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer at Johnson &
Johnson. "By advancing our technologies, uniting our best
scientists and leveraging decades of experience in HIV and TB,
we're optimistic that we can make a significant contribution to the
global effort."
Building on a strong track record set by its Janssen
Pharmaceutical Companies in the areas of HIV and TB and Johnson
& Johnson's existing Health for Humanity 2020 Goals, Johnson
& Johnson will dedicate a team of world-class researchers who
will leverage our scientific resources to accelerate the discovery,
development and delivery of next generation medicines and vaccines
to complement investments being made by governments.
This investment in innovation has the potential to positively
impact the day-to-day lives of millions of people affected by both
HIV and TB and maximize the efficiency of country investments in
health over the long-term. In doing so, these efforts will
also support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goal 3 targets when combined with other global
programs.
HIV
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson &
Johnson (Janssen) have been
committed to the fight against HIV for more than 25 years. Over
this time, the Company has introduced eight transformational HIV
medicines – including three antiviral agents and five combination
products developed in partnership – which have helped to transform
HIV/AIDS from a death sentence into a chronic, manageable
disease, allowing millions of people living with HIV to lead near
normal lives.
"Although HIV is now considered a chronic and manageable
condition, people living with HIV still face a lifetime of taking
daily pills. We therefore must continue to advance important
innovations to help them," said Johan
Van Hoof, MD, Global Therapeutic Area
Head, Vaccines, and Managing Director, Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V.,
Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. "The global challenge remains
immense. With 37 million people around the world living with HIV –
and nearly two million people newly-infected each year – we cannot
treat ourselves out of the HIV epidemic. Our ultimate goal must be
to find a preventive vaccine for HIV."
As part of the $500 million
investment, Janssen will continue to advance an investigational
mosaic-based vaccine regimen to prevent HIV together with a
consortium of partners. An ongoing efficacy trial (Imbokodo)
in 2,600 women in Southern Africa
is fully enrolled. A second efficacy trial (Mosaico) is about to
commence in North America,
South America and Europe with 3,800 men who have sex with men
and transgender individuals.
In partnership with ViiV Healthcare, Janssen is also
investigating a long-acting injectable HIV treatment regimen that
could be administered to patients once every two months. This
regimen, if approved, could potentially reduce HIV treatment for
some patients to just twelve or even six injection visits per year
to keep the virus under control, instead of a daily oral treatment
taken 365 times per year.
Tuberculosis
In 2012, Janssen introduced bedaquiline, which was the first TB
medicine with a novel mechanism of action in nearly half a century.
Since then, the Company has provided more than 145,000 courses of
treatment for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) patients in 131
countries, including through a four-year donation program that
operated in the 2015-2019 period in partnership with the U.S.
Agency for International Development and JSC Pharmstandard.
At the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis in
September 2018, Johnson & Johnson
announced a comprehensive 10-year initiative to support ending the
TB epidemic by 2030, which builds on our current Health for
Humanity 2020 TB Goal. With the goal of saving an estimated
1.8 million lives and preventing 12 million new TB infections in
the next decade, Johnson & Johnson is working with partners to
improve detection of undiagnosed cases of TB, broaden access to
bedaquiline, and accelerate research & development (R&D) to
discover next-generation TB treatments.
"TB is the world's number one infectious killer, and TB and
MDR-TB cause major devastation for people, communities and entire
countries around the world," says Jaak
Peeters, Global Head, Global Public Health, Johnson &
Johnson. "The good news is TB is both preventable and
treatable, and Johnson & Johnson is committed to doing
everything we can to make TB history. With our 10-year
initiative we want to unleash the power of science and technology
to forever change the trajectory of this terrible disease."
Visit www.jnj.com/outsmartepidemics for further details on the
breadth of science and collaboration being undertaken by the
Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies and its partners to
tackle infectious diseases that are pandemics or that have pandemic
potential. Annual reporting of progress in delivering Better
Health for All can be found in our Health for Humanity Report,
which includes details on progress for our Health for Humanity 2020
HIV and TB Goals and our UN Sustainable Development Goals: Global
Disease Challenges commitment.
About Johnson & Johnson
At Johnson & Johnson,
we believe good health is the foundation of vibrant lives, thriving
communities and forward progress. That's why for more than 130
years, we have aimed to keep people well at every age and every
stage of life. Today, as the world's largest and most broadly-based
healthcare company, we are committed to using our reach and size
for good. We strive to improve access and affordability, create
healthier communities, and put a healthy mind, body and environment
within reach of everyone, everywhere. We are blending our heart,
science and ingenuity to profoundly change the trajectory of health
for humanity. Learn more at www.jnj.com. Follow us at
www.twitter.com/JNJNews.
About Johnson & Johnson Health for Humanity 2020 Goals
and UN Sustainable Development Goal Commitments
We focus
our citizenship and sustainability efforts where we
believe Johnson & Johnson can achieve the greatest
impact by leveraging the power of our people, expertise and global
partnerships. Our Health for Humanity 2020 Goals are aligned
with our Company's purpose and reflect the areas where our
stakeholders expect us to lead. The Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) are a global framework for progress toward a more
sustainable future. In trying to determine the unique
impact Johnson & Johnson would contribute to the
global community to create a healthier, more equitable world, we
developed a clear, pragmatic process to create a commitment to
accelerate the SDGs that reflects our unique constellation of
strengths.
About the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies
At Janssen, we're creating a future where disease is a thing of the
past. We're the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson,
working tirelessly to make that future a reality for patients
everywhere by fighting sickness with science, improving access with
ingenuity, and healing hopelessness with heart. We focus on areas
of medicine where we can make the biggest difference:
Cardiovascular & Metabolism, Immunology, Infectious Diseases
& Vaccines, Neuroscience, Oncology, and Pulmonary
Hypertension. Learn more at www.janssen.com. Follow us at
www.twitter.com/JanssenGlobal. Janssen Vaccines &
Prevention B.V. is one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of
Johnson & Johnson.
Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
regarding development of a potential preventive vaccine for HIV,
long acting injectables for the treatment of HIV and novel regimens
for the treatment of tuberculosis. The reader is cautioned not to
rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are
based on current expectations of future events. If underlying
assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or
uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially
from the expectations and projections of Janssen Vaccines &
Prevention B.V., or any of the other Janssen Pharmaceutical
Companies and/or Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to: challenges and uncertainties
inherent in product research and development, including the
uncertainty of clinical success and of obtaining regulatory
approvals; uncertainty of commercial success; manufacturing
difficulties and delays; competition, including technological
advances, new products and patents attained by competitors;
challenges to patents; product efficacy or safety concerns
resulting in product recalls or regulatory action; changes in
behavior and spending patterns of purchasers of health care
products and services; changes to applicable laws and regulations,
including global health care reforms; and trends toward health care
cost containment. A further list and descriptions of these risks,
uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson &
Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 30, 2018, including in the
sections captioned "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements" and "Item 1A. Risk Factors," in the company's most
recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in the company's
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Copies of these filings are available online
at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from
Johnson & Johnson. Neither of the Janssen Pharmaceutical
Companies nor Johnson & Johnson undertakes to update any
forward-looking statement as a result of new information or
future events or developments.
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SOURCE Johnson & Johnson