Johnson & Johnson suspends sales forecast for Covid vaccine

During Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly results call on Tuesday, the company halted sales predictions for its Covid-19 vaccine, citing a lack of demand compared to injections from Moderna and Pfizer.

“Given global supply surplus and demand uncertainty, the Company is suspending COVID-19 Vaccine sales guidance,” J&J said in a statement, adding that the move will have “no impact to adjusted operating earnings per share.”

The company’s chief executive Joaquin Duato said the first-quarter results — in which estimated reported sales excluding Covid-19 vaccine sales figures were up 3.8 to 4.8 percent over the same period one year ago — “demonstrate strong performance across the enterprise, despite macro-economic headwinds.”

J&J’s shares were down 0.4 percent to $177 in electronic trading on Wall Street before the New York Stock Exchange’s opening bell.

The New York Times reported in February that Johnson & Johnson had temporarily halted production at a key plant that manufactures the Covid-19 vaccine, but that the company was still on track to meet its delivery commitments.

J&J said at the time that sales of its Covid shot would be $3 billion to $3.5 billion in 2022, far less than Pfizer’s forecast of $32 billion for the same timeframe.

On Thursday, a US government-appointed panel of medical specialists overwhelmingly endorsed Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA Covid vaccinations over J&J’s shot.

J&J’s vaccine was first lauded for its ability to be maintained at room temperature and for its potency against older coronavirus strains with just one dose.

However, research tying it to a rare kind of clotting, particularly among women of childbearing age, prompted officials to temporarily ban and then restore its usage in April of last year.