J&J Says Deals Likely to Shrink After $14.6B Intra-Cellular Buy

 

On the company’s Q4 earnings call where an eyepopping $88.8 billion in full-year sales were revealed, leaders shifted focus away from enormous takeovers to single-digit billion buy outs.

After making a big JPM week splash with the $14.6 billion acquisition of neurology biotech Intra-Cellular Therapies, Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato insisted his business development team will keep things small for the rest of 2025.

“You have to think that larger acquisitions, like the case of Shockwave or Intra-Cellular, are more outliers when going forward,” Duato said on J&J’s fourth quarter earnings call Wednesday morning, referring to the $13.1 billion purchase of cardiology medtech manufacturer Shockwave Medical in spring 2024.

Rather than deals valued in the double-digit billions, Duato pointed to J&J’s history of purchasing smaller companies or individual assets, both on the medicine and medtech sides. He mentioned the purchase of cardiology medtechs Laminar for $400 million in November 2023 and V-Wave for $600 million in October 2024.

“[J&J has always] been focused on these smaller opportunities,” the CEO added.

On the medicine side, those smaller opportunities include J&J’s $850 million buy of Proteologix for a dermatitis asset last year, a 2017 commitment of up to nearly $1 billion for an investigational Crohn’s disease treatment from Protagonist Therapeutics, or the acquisition of private bladder cancer company TARIS Biomedical for an undisclosed amount.

On Wednesday’s earnings call, Duato noted that Protagonist’s asset and TARIS “are more than $5 billion opportunities. That’s where we are able to create value. External innovation has always been a very important part of our capital allocation for Johnson and Johnson,” Duato said.

In Intra-Cellular, J&J picked up assets like Caplyta, a pill approved for schizophrenia and bipolar depression and proposed for major depressive disorder. J&J CFO Joseph Wolk referred to the neuroscience portfolio as one of its “throughbreds within the stable,” which also includes oncology and immunology. The company is bolstering the mental health franchise with four different formulations of the antipsychotic Invega, Spravato for major depression and Caplyta.

Spravato, Oncology Drive Earnings

Meanwhile, J&J reported fourth-quarter sales of $22.52 billion—beating analyst consensus—and full-year revenue growth of 4.3% to $88.8 billion, a number likely to maintain its spot as the highest grossing pharmaceutical company. Earnings per share for the full year were $5.79 with adjusted EPS of $9.98.

Sales of Spravato, which just earned FDA approval as a monotherapy for adults with major depressive disorder, jumped 56% over 2023, with annual sales surpassing $1 billion last year. That brings J&J’s list of blockbuster drugs to 26, Duato said during the call.

Jefferies said that the sales numbers put Spravato at the low end of a predicted $5 billion peak sales potential. Quarter-over-quarter 45% growth “supports the notion psychedelics can become commercially viable for mental health,” the firm said in a Wednesday morning note.

John Reed, executive vice president of Innovative Medicine and R&D, said that Spravato’s new indication allows for the esketamine spray to be used without standard of care, meaning patients can avoid the side effects associated with traditional antidepressant agents.

“We had received priority review from the FDA for that submission,” Reed said. “That’s the second time Spravato had received a priority review—the only antidepressant ever to do so—and Spravato is also the only antidepressant to ever receive breakthrough designation from the FDA.”

For the third straight quarter, J&J saw sales exceeding $14 billion in the innovative medicines section, as 10 key brands grew by double-digit percentags. The growth was primarily driven by the oncology portfolio, which includes Darzalex, Erleada and Tecvayli.

J&J issued operational sales guidance of 2.5% to 3.5% for 2025, with adjusted operational EPS of $10.75 to $10.95.

https://www.biospace.com/business/j-j-says-deals-likely-to-shrink-after-14-6b-intra-cellular-buy

Investors balked at Venture Global's earnings outlook before IPO price cut

 Venture Global LNG was forced to nearly halve the valuation it is seeking in its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) after investors balked at the company's estimated long-term profit for liquefying gas for export, investors told Reuters.

The company is the second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the United States, itself the world's largest exporter of the supercooled fuel.

The listing is a rare opportunity for investors to gain equity-market exposure to U.S. LNG, and a test of both the company's potential in the energy export business and market faith in the pro-oil and gas policies expected from President Donald Trump's administration.

The Arlington, Virginia-based firm on Wednesday slashed its price range by more than 40% to upper guidance of $65 billion, down from $110 billion. The revised IPO plan, first reported by Reuters on Tuesday, offers additional shares to bridge some of the gap in fundraising from the lower valuation.

Investors questioned whether Venture Global makes enough money to justify the initial IPO price, several investor sources invited to buy shares in the proposed New York flotation told Reuters.

"We are having a hard time getting to the market cap, and I know a few other dedicated funds we've spoken to are not remotely close either," said one investor prior to the revision who, like all the sources who spoke to Reuters, did so on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information.

Venture Global did not respond to a request for comment.

The initial prospective asking price greatly exceeded Cheniere Energy on an earnings multiple basis, the sources said. Cheniere is the largest U.S. LNG exporter and the best comparison for Venture Global, the sources said.

"I would feel better if the valuation were closer to Cheniere," said a second investor.

Future earnings forecasts would require Venture Global to hit all its growth targets and need market and pricing dynamics to go its way, investor sources said.

For example, Venture Global said in its IPO filing it expects to earn around $4.52 per million British thermal unit "over time" on what it charges customers for its service.

This is despite liquefaction fees traditionally being between $2 and $3 per MMBtu in the United States, according to the document.

Even after the revision to price guidance and the number of shares offered, the top end of the proposed $23-$27 per share price range would still raise as much as $1.9 billion and value Venture Global as highly as $65.3 billion, per Reuters calculations. That would make it one of the ten largest U.S. energy companies by market capitalization.

Pricing at, or near, the top of the range would also mark the largest oil and gas company IPO in the United States since Plains GP Holdings listed in 2013.

The timing of the proposed stock market listing, just days into Trump's second term, was aimed at benefiting from the President's policy pledge to increase U.S. oil and gas production. Measures to facilitate that include reducing regulations and accelerating permitting.

The IPO is for a tiny percentage of the company founded by Michael Sabel and Robert Pender in 2013, and was pitched as an opportunity to buy into their rapid growth story.

Venture Global plans a massive increase in output, taking production from around 10 million tonnes per year today to 143.8 million tonnes a year by 2031, according to the filing. That would make it one of the largest LNG companies in the world.

LITIGATION

Hanging over the prospects for both Venture Global and its IPO is ongoing litigation involving some of the world's largest energy companies for cargoes exported from Venture's first project, the Calcasieu Pass plant.

The company agreed long-term sales contracts with companies including BP, Shell and Edison.

The buyers say they have not received cargoes under those contracts since the plant came online in 2022. Venture Global has argued the plant remains in start-up phase, and so it is not yet bound to deliver contracted cargoes to long-term buyers.

Venture Global has earned billions of dollars more by selling the cargoes on the spot market than it would have by delivering to the long-term buyers. Losing the dispute could also cost the company billions, according to the IPO document.

WILL IT HAPPEN?

An IPO is never guaranteed to price within the initial range given at the start of the formal marketing process, so changes are common. The final price depends on conversations between the company, advisers, and potential investors.

Venture Global could cancel the flotation and remain private if it feels investors want a valuation it considers too cheap.

The IPO cash is earmarked for general corporate purposes, including possible costs incurred ahead of green-lighting future LNG projects, per the document.

A delay could be favorable, allowing Venture Global to settle litigation and make progress on its expansion, as well as for the market to absorb the impact of Trump's energy policies.

The company currently has two operational plants and has three more LNG projects in various stages of development near the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.

"We're torn on the deal, as the valuation looks high but it's a fascinating story," said a third investor, before the price revision.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/analysis-investors-balked-venture-globals-194243652.html

"Be A Good Democrat"... Or Else - Adams Says Biden Admin Tried To Silence Him Over Illegals Influx

 Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that the Democratic Party “left” him and the working class behind, during an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that aired on Tuesday.

“People often say, ‘You don’t sound like a Democrat. You seem to have left the party,’” Adams told Carlson.

“No, the party left me, and it left working-class people.”

Throughout the interview, Adams tied his indictment on bribery and corruption charges to his decision to speak out against the illegal immigrant surge in New York City.

He claimed those who push back on “the norm” within the Democratic party get “demonized.”

As Katabella Roberts reports for The Epoch Times, Adams was indicted in September 2024 on charges of taking bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources.

The charges include accepting improper valuable benefits, including luxury international travel, from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him.

The indictment alleges that Adams not only accepted but also sought out illegal campaign contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign.

The mayor has denied the allegations against him and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Adams told Carlson that he felt there were people within the “orbit” of the Justice Department under the Biden administration who felt he was “not a good Democrat” after he raised concerns about the “onslaught” of migrants into the city and various failed border policies.

Those failed policies ultimately cost the city $6.5 billion in clothing, food, and accommodation for migrants, he said.

The mayor also said former President Joe Biden and his aides had “basically” told him to “be a good Democrat” when he raised concerns over the alarming number of illegal immigrants arriving in the city and the impact it was having on the ground.

“You know, one of [Biden’s] aids told me that, ‘Listen, this is like a gallstone, it’ll pass. It’ll hurt now, but it’ll pass,’” Adams said.

Adams Attends Trump Inauguration

Adams traveled to Florida last week to meet with then-President-elect Donald Trump, just days before the Republican was sworn into office for a second term.

In a statement issued shortly after his visit, Adams described the meeting as a “productive conversation” that focused on the city’s needs and how the incoming administration could play a role in improving the lives of New Yorkers.

The meeting came amid growing speculation that the mayor was seeking a possible pardon from the president for the corruption charges he is facing; something that Trump has signaled he is open to doing.

Adams insisted that he and Trump did not discuss the mayor’s legal case during their meeting in Florida.

On Monday, Adams also canceled various planned public appearances at Martin Luther King Jr. Day events across New York, opting instead to attend Trump’s inauguration.

Dozens of recently arrived illegal immigrants camp outside of New York's Roosevelt Hotel, which has been made into a reception center, as they try to secure temporary housing in New York City, on Aug. 1, 2023. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

That decision drew criticism from Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who wrote on X that New Yorkers “deserve a Mayor who puts our city’s wellbeing above his own exoneration.”

Elsewhere, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander wrote on X: “Imagine if Mayor Adams applied the same focus to making our city safer and bringing down our cost of living as he does to getting himself a pardon.”

Adams defended attending Trump’s swearing-in ceremony in a statement on X, calling it a “sacred American tradition.”

“Our country has been through so much, and every president has the honor and responsibility to protect and lead the American people,” he said.

“On MLK Day, like Reverend Dr. King said, we must put partisan politics aside to do what’s best for our country.”

The Democrat added that he believes much can be achieved by working alongside the new Trump administration to “support our city’s values and fight for New Yorkers.”

Adams is seeking reelection in June.

A Manhattan judge has scheduled his legal trial to start in April.

*  *  *

Watch the full interview with Tucker Carlson below:

(0:00) Eric Adams’ Indictment Is Ridiculous
(6:04) How Biden Destroyed New York With Immigration
(17:27) What Do New Yorkers Think About the Illegal Immigrants?
(19:10) Pressing Adams on His Sanctuary City Policy
(22:36) How Illegal Immigration Is Fueling America’s Labor Crisis
(29:43) How to Clean Up New York
(37:55) Did Eric Adams Leave the Democrat Party?
(40:34) Will Adams Go to Jail?
(41:32) Adams’ Conversation With Donald Trump
(45:54) America’s Mental Health Crisis

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/be-good-democrat-or-else-nyc-mayor-says-biden-admin-tried-silence-him-over-influx

Democrats Can't Bully Their Way To A Free Pass

 by Kevin M. Spivak via RealClearPolicy,

I believe in restraint, tradition, decorum, and the precepts of our system of criminal justice: deterrence, punishment, and retribution. Turning the other cheek accomplishes none of these. Joe Biden’s last-minute pardons for his family, and his unprecedented preemptive pardons for members and staff of the January 6 Committee, Anthony Fauci, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mike Milley, underscore the necessity for Congress and Donald Trump’s Justice Department to perform their duties to investigate crime.

The Supreme Court made clear in Burdick v. United States (1915) that the “confession of guilt implied in the acceptance of a pardon” may be avoided only by rejecting it. In December, the Biden Justice Department advised a federal judge that January 6 defendants hoping for a pardon from soon-to-be President Trump “would first have to accept the pardon, which necessitates a confession of guilt.”

The Biden administration and its proxies engaged in the unrestricted, weaponized use of our justice system to take down the leading Republican candidate for president and his family, supporters and advisors, as well as Christians, conservatives, and pro-life activists. They censored, investigated, humiliated, intimidated, arrested, indicted, and jailed their political opponents using long-abandoned, novel, and manifestly flawed legal theories.

Democrats express horror that the Trump Justice Department might investigate whether laws were broken by officials who engaged in these tactics. They angrily assert that if the Trump administration exacts “retribution” it would endanger civil liberties and tear asunder the fabric of our justice system.

This reminds me of bullies who strike a classmate and then recoil, wag a finger at the victim, and warn him that he better not hit back.

After ignoring billions of dollars in damage and dozens of deaths caused by violent rioters on the left, the Biden administration terrorized and pursued nearly 1,600 Americans, many with only scant connection to the January 6 demonstrations, jailing some who never entered the Capitol. Trump advisors Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon were imprisoned for refusing to testify before the House January 6 Committee – the first such prosecutions in 65 years. FBI agents targeted parents for advocating conservative values at school board meetings, as well as pro-life advocates and Catholic churches.

The White House and Biden prosecutors coordinated an unconstitutional and unlawful attack on Trump and his supporters. Jack Smith was appointed as special prosecutor, despite never having received Senate confirmation as required by the Appointments Clause (Article II, § 2). He prosecuted Trump and his associates for keeping classified documents, though no other former president had ever been charged for doing the same, and used statutes intended for the Ku Klux Klan and for evidence-tampering and financial crimes to bring a lawless case against Trump for lobbying against ratification of 2020 election. The cases were dismissed, with the latter case decimated when the Supreme Court held that a president is immune from prosecution for official acts. Contrary to its policies, the Justice Department then issued scathing reports, in which Smith proclaimed that Trump would have been convicted. Who needs trials or juries?

Matthew Colangelo left the third-ranking position in the Biden Justice Department to concoct sham fraud cases against Trump in New York. Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump and his children liable for “civil fraud,” imposed a $455 million fine, and stripped Trump of his New York businesses, even though there was no fraud, victim, or losses. Colangelo, district attorney Alvin Bragg, and Judge Juan Merchan mangled New York law, convincing a jury to find Trump guilty of 34 felony counts for his private check stubs and legal payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

Hired by his lover, Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, to lead an abusive Georgia RICO case against Trump and 18 others, Nathan Wade spent at least 16 hours in the White House developing the strategy. Democratic elected officials declared Trump an “insurrectionist,” and for the first time in American history, tried to throw a major party candidate off the ballot. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected this travesty.

More than 100 Trump family members, supporters, and advisors were indicted or targeted in these cases. At least 10 Trump lawyers face disbarment and other financially devastating discipline, including Rudy Guliani and John Eastman.

There is compelling evidence that many of these actions constitute conspiracies to injure, oppress, threaten, intimidate, and abuse power under color of authority, subjecting officials to criminal and civil liability pursuant to 18 U.S. Code §241 and § 245, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, and other federal and state laws and regulations.

Trump says that success will be his retribution. Attorney General nominee Pat Biondi testified during her confirmation hearing that she will not pursue retribution. Some commentators whom I greatly respect argue that to restore normalcy, the Trump administration should move on.

I disagree.

“Retribution” would mean doing what the Biden administration did – stretching laws to improperly pursue political opponents. I agree that that should never happen.

But anyone involved in the weaponization of our justice system who accepts a Biden pardon should be hauled before congressional committees, federal investigators, and grand juries so we can learn the truth. The pardon will strip them of their right to avoid self-incrimination. Any witness who fails to testify fully and honestly should be prosecuted for obstruction of justice, perjury, and other appropriate crimes.

Other officials involved in lawfare who broke no laws that are traditionally prosecuted should be subject to appropriate discipline. But any official who broke laws that are historically prosecuted should be held to account for lives ruined, as well as the assault on democracy.

Doing this will restore normalcy.

Kenin M. Spivak is founder and chairman of SMI Group LLC, an international consulting firm and investment bank. He is the author of fiction and non-fiction books and a frequent speaker and contributor to media, including The American Mind, National Review, the National Association of Scholars, television, radio, and podcasts.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/democrats-cant-bully-their-way-free-pass

Lab-Grown-Meat Backlash Builds As More States Say 'No' To Bill Gates' Fake-Food

 Two states, Florida and Alabama, have banned lab-grown meat for consumption, while three others have proposed similar restrictions on the controversial 3D-printed meat. Additionally, ten states now mandate labeling of lab-grown meat. Meanwhile, the rest of the US has no regulations governing fake meat. 

Source: Bloomberg NEF 

In the era of Trump 2.0, the "Make America Healthy Again" initiative aims to promote nutritious, clean, and natural food—rejecting not just science experiment foods funded by woke billionaires like Bill Gates but also toxic processed foods.  

On Monday, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen announced a new legislative proposal to ban lab-grown meat from being produced in or sold in stores across the Cornhusker State. 

"It's important we get on the offense so that Nebraska farmers and ranchers are not undermined," Pillen told reporters at a news conference.

Under Trump's second term, we believe the backlash to lab-grown meat will only supercharge from here as a growing number of states will issue proposed legislation to ban the science experiment meat. 

When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banned fake meat from supermarket shelves in early 2024, he said his state was "taking action to stop the World Economic Forum's goal of forcing the world to eat lab-grown meat and insects."

DeSantis also said, "Take your fake lab-grown meat elsewhere," adding, "We're not doing that in the state of Florida."

Recall that billionaires like Bill Gates and the World Economic Forum have pushed a dystopic nightmare across the world in their attempt to reset the global food supply, one where the world eats insects and highly processed fake food. 

Under the guise of 'climate change' ... Gates wants to "work towards artificial meat." 

"We need to change cows and work towards artificial meat" - Bill Gates

SHARE if you refuse to eat the fake meat 💪pic.twitter.com/zKRR1lJ1zW

— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) June 15, 2024

An alternative to this dystopic nightmare is real, clean food. Trump nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and has outlined plans for the most significant transformation of America's food system—a sweeping effort known as "Make America Healthy Again."

RFK Jr. explains his plan to 'Make America Healthy Again'pic.twitter.com/FzS8nYZeFO

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) November 20, 2024

Say "No" to insects and fake food pushed by radical billionaires and WEF. Say "Yes" to real, clean food from small farms. It's time to reclaim the food supply chain from mega-corporations and return control to mom-and-pop farmers. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/mapping-current-lab-grown-meat-backlash-more-states-say-no-bill-gates-fake-meat

Minnesota spice: sore-loser Democrats thwart democracy — AGAIN

 Democrats purport to be obsessed with threats to “democracy,” but they tend to go into full obstruction mode when democracy actually threatens to break out.

We have seen that over the last week, as US Senate Democrats grilled Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees and repeatedly demanded the extent to which they’ll defy the duly elected commander-in-chief.

“Will you say no if Trump wants you to commit a crime?”

“Will you refuse to follow a Trump order to shoot innocent protesters?”

And so on. 

The Democrats’ questions assume that Trump is a monster, and the job of a Cabinet member is to frustrate his designs.

In fact, Trump has just won an overwhelming electoral victory, and the job of his Cabinet members is to help effectuate the policies that voters have endorsed.

We see the same thing at the state level — when Democrats lose, their first impulse is to obstruct, to take their ball and go home.

In Wisconsin in 2011, following Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s election and facing a GOP majority in the state Senate, every Senate Democrat fled the state for nearly a month so the body would not have a quorum and could not conduct business. 

Texas Democrats followed that playbook in 2021, when dozens of them hightailed it to Washington, DC, in a failed attempt to block a Republican-sponsored voting-reform bill.

Something similar is happening now in my state, Minnesota.

In November’s election, Republicans gained several seats in the state House of Representatives, and it appeared the 134-member body would be evenly split, 67-67.

But as it turned out, one of the Democrats’ candidates had cheated. 

Minnesota’s constitution requires a legislator to live in the district he or she represents — and one seemingly victorious Democratic candidate lied about his residency, living all the while in a different district.

His Republican opponent filed an election contest.

The judge who heard the lawsuit held that the Democrat cheated and enjoined him from taking a seat in the House.

So the tally stood at 67-66, in favor of the GOP. Under state law, the House convened at noon on Jan. 14.

Those present with valid election certificates would be sworn in, and the House would elect a speaker and begin to conduct business.

But as in Texas and Wisconsin, the Democrats decided not to participate, vowing not to show up for the 2025 House session if they were in the minority.

The ongoing boycott has had the support of the Democratic Party machine, in an orchestrated campaign.

Gov. Tim Walz issued an illegal order setting a ridiculously early date for a special election to replace the Democrat who cheated.

Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon bizarrely produced an eight-page memo arguing that the Republicans’ 67 votes — plainly a majority of the 133 current members — did not constitute a quorum. 

And on the Sunday before the legislative session, the Democrats held a fake “swearing-in” ceremony, conducted by a retired Democratic judge — a farce that utterly failed to comply with statutory requirements.

When the House convened on Jan. 14, all Republicans were present, but not a single Democrat.

Simon, who under the state constitution has the purely ceremonial role of bringing the House to order, announced — with no legal power or authority — that there was no quorum, so the House should adjourn.

To their everlasting credit, Republicans didn’t stand for it.

They took the podium and elected a speaker, Lisa Demuth — for what it’s worth, the first black speaker in Minnesota history — and began doing the people’s business.

More than a week later, the Democrats are still AWOL.

But they are being bombarded with thousands of emails from constituents, demanding that they do their jobs and show up for work.

While not appearing themselves, a party minion on Tuesday crashed a committee hearing and screamed obscenities at Republican House members through a bullhorn for 20 minutes — the Democrats’ only contribution to the legislative process so far.

In a final irony, the Democrats claim that being “sworn in,” in an illegal ceremony, entitles them to be paid. 

Minnesota’s Supreme Court has already shot down one part of the Democrats’ strategy.

The court has ruled that Walz’s premature order setting a special election for January 28, well in advance of the statutory schedule, was illegal.

So the missing members likely will have to continue their boycott into March.

Meanwhile, the Democrats have sued in the state Supreme Court to prevent the Republican majority from conducting business.

Their case has no basis in the state constitution, but it remains to be seen how the court’s all-Democrat members will respond after it hears arguments on Thursday.

One thing’s for sure: Democrats are pro-democracy only when they win.

John Hinderaker is president of the Center of the American Experiment.

https://nypost.com/2025/01/22/opinion/sore-loser-democrats-obstructing-democracy-now-in-minnesota/