UPDATE 2-J&nbsp;J sees Pfizer deal breaking even a year earl
ju4 wa4i dia4n zo1ng he2 ba4o da4o :\n  (Adds comment from company and investor, details, byline,\nupdates stock)\nBy Ransdell Pierson\nNEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., June 5 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson\n<JNJ.N> said on Thursday it expects its $16.6 billion\nacquisition of Pfizer Consumer Health to break even or increase\nearnings modestly by 2009, a year earlier than previously\nexpected.\nColleen Goggins, worldwide chairwoman of J&J's Consumer\nGroup, speaking to analysts at a company meeting focusing on\nmedical device, diagnostic and consumer businesses, said the\nintegration of Pfizer Consumer Health is expected to result in\ncost savings of $500 million to $600 million in 2009.\nThe acquisition of the Pfizer unit, which closed in late\n2006, brought J&J big brand names, which Goggins said J&J can\nexpand using its extensive global infrastructure.\nSome of the brands include Listerine mouthwash, Nicorette\nstop-smoking chewing gum, and over-the-counter allergy\nmedication Zyrtec.\nThe company said it has aggressively expanded its Listerine\nproduct line, which had double-digit growth last year and in\nthe first quarter. Extensions of the Listerine line, for\ninstance, include Listerine Whitening Quick Dissolving Strips\nand Listerine Smart Rinse.\n"It's impressive that we've seen this kind of growth in\nListerine's 127th year," said Marc Robinson, company group\nchairman of Consumer Healthcare, OTC & Nutritionals. "It's\ntestimony to the brand and benefits from the infrastructure and\ntalent of J&J."\nGoggins said the company is still looking at possible\nacquisitions, albeit not on the scale of Pfizer Consumer\nHealth.\n"We still have an appetite for acquisitions," Goggins said.\n"That being said, the PCH acquisition is really big and really\ncomplex and we've been really consumed with integrating it. I\ndon't think we've got the appetite to do anything the size of\nPCH anytime soon."\nPretax operating profit was 15.8 percent of sales in its\nconsumer division, which generated $14.5 billion in sales in\n2007. Profit margins were held back because of the acquisition,\nJ&J Chief Financial Officer Dominic Caruso said.\n"We have been competitive and expect to be more competitive\nin the future," he said, referring to its consumer business.\nSeparately, J&J said it plans to file in 2010 for U.S.\napproval of Cypher Elite, an improved version of its Cypher\ndrug-eluting stent already on the U.S. market.\nIt said it will seek European and U.S. approvals for its\nNevo Sirolimus-eluting heart stent in 2009 and 2011,\nrespectively.\n"We have begun clinical trials on Nevo," said Caruso,\nnoting that it is using Sirolimus, which is the drug used on\nits existing stent, Cypher, on the stent platform it acquired\nwhen it bought Conor Medsystems last year.\n"It's also a redesign of the stent itself," he added.\nJ&J, whose stent sales fell some 34 percent in 2007,\nprojected only 1 percent compound annual growth for all\ndrug-eluting stents worldwide between 2007 and 2012.\nThe company said the total market for these devices, which\nprop open diseased arteries and deliver medication to keep them\nclear, will be $4 billion by 2012.\nFor the past several years, J&J and Boston Scientific Corp\n<BSX.N> had the only U.S. approved drug-eluting stents, but\nconcerns about safety have tempered their use recently. In\naddition, there's more competition from other manufacturers.\nSeth Fischer, Group Chairman, Worldwide Franchise Chairman\nat Cordis, J&J cardiovascular products business, said the use\nof drug-eluting stents versus conventional bare metal stents\nhas stabilized around 60 percent.\n"We do not see a return to the near 90 percent seen earlier\nthis decade, but we believe we can drive share growth despite\nnew competition," Fischer said.\nUsing Conor's reservoir stent technology, the company can\nuse more than a single drug on a stent, including antiplatelet\nagents to mitigate the risk of developing blood clots.\n"We believe it has the potential to become a market\ndisrupter," said Cordis Chief Technology Officer Dr. Campbell\nRogers.\nFischer said Cordis plans to capitalize on opportunities\noutside the United States and diversify so that it is not so\nreliant on stent sales.\n"It has not been an easy time for Cordis as of late," he\nsaid referring the softening stent market.\nHe said the total worldwide market for all cardiovascular\nproducts is expected to swell to $36 billion by 2012, making it\nthe largest market in the medical device sector. In 2007, the\nmarket was $26 billion.\nJeff Jonas, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Asset\nManagement, looks for single-digit sales growth from the whole\ncompany for the foreseeable future, with the medical device, diagnostic and consumer units making solid contributions.\nHe forecast high single-digit earnings in 2008 and 2009,\nheld back somewhat by expected generic competition later this\nmonth for its blockbuster schizophrenia drug Risperdal and\ngeneric competition next year for its epilepsy drug Topamax.\nThursday's meeting, Jonas said, "reassures me that you will\nget a solid return from J&J."\nShares of J&J were up 32 cents at $66.87 in afternoon New\nYork Stock Exchange trade.\n(Additional reporting by Debra Sherman in Chicago; editing by\nGerald E. McCormick, Gary Hill)\n((debra.sherman@thomsonreuters.com; 312 408 8134; Reuters\nMessaging: debra.sherman.reuters.com@reuters.net))\nKeywords: JOHNSON&JOHNSON/