Johnson & Johnson Commits $500 Million Investment Over Four Years to Help End the Epidemics of HIV and Tuberculosis

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