By Ransdell Pierson
NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said its Cordis medical devices unit, whose sales have fallen sharply in recent years due to waning demand for its Cypher heart stent, will lay off an unspecified number of salespeople and merge two separate sales forces within the division.
'This change resulted in the elimination of some positions in our U.S. field sales organization, (but) we are continuing to call on all current accounts,' said J&J spokeswoman Sandra Pound, who declined to disclose the number of layoffs.
The Cordis unit is best known for its cardiology products, such as Cypher and a range of diagnostic products. But it also sells an array of endovascular products used in minimally invasive surgery, such as catheters, guidewires and related accessories.
Separate cardiology and endovascular sales teams, beginning on Thursday, were merged into a single Cordis Vascular sales force, she said.
Pound said the new unified sales force will be better equipped to offer a wide range of products not only to individual doctors, but to hospitals, purchasing managers and managers of so-called cath labs that implant stents in heart patients.
'This reflects the changing nature of the marketplace ... to a total-account approach,' she said, where many parties involved in purchasing decisions can be approached.
Jeff Jonas, an analyst with Gabelli & Co, said it is the latest in a number of recent restructurings at Cordis, whose annual sales have plunged to about $2.5 billion, from more than $4 billion in 2006.
'This is another step to respond to its sales declines and market-share losses,' Jonas said.
Sales within the Cordis unit fell almost 10 percent in the fourth quarter, to $629 million. That made it the most poorly performing of J&J's many medical device businesses, and the main reason the company's overall devices and diagnostics sales were virtually flat in the period.
Cordis has suffered in the past few years as Abbott Laboratories Inc's newer Xience heart stent leapfrogged Cypher, to become the preferred option for patients and doctors.
Meanwhile, Jonas said J&J's next-generation stent, called NEVO, has had numerous setbacks and may not make it to market for another two to three years.
'By then, it will be difficult for J&J to break back in,' Jonas said.
J&J, which had overall company sales declines in 2009 and 2010, has also been hurt by repeated recalls of Tylenol and other over-the-counter medicines that failed to adhere to quality-control standards.
(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Tim Dobbyn) Keywords: JOHNSONANDJOHNSON/ (Reuters Messaging: ransdell.pierson.reuters.com@reuters.net; 646-223-6034; ransdell.pierson@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said its Cordis medical devices unit, whose sales have fallen sharply in recent years due to waning demand for its Cypher heart stent, will lay off an unspecified number of salespeople and merge two separate sales forces within the division.
'This change resulted in the elimination of some positions in our U.S. field sales organization, (but) we are continuing to call on all current accounts,' said J&J spokeswoman Sandra Pound, who declined to disclose the number of layoffs.
The Cordis unit is best known for its cardiology products, such as Cypher and a range of diagnostic products. But it also sells an array of endovascular products used in minimally invasive surgery, such as catheters, guidewires and related accessories.
Separate cardiology and endovascular sales teams, beginning on Thursday, were merged into a single Cordis Vascular sales force, she said.
Pound said the new unified sales force will be better equipped to offer a wide range of products not only to individual doctors, but to hospitals, purchasing managers and managers of so-called cath labs that implant stents in heart patients.
'This reflects the changing nature of the marketplace ... to a total-account approach,' she said, where many parties involved in purchasing decisions can be approached.
Jeff Jonas, an analyst with Gabelli & Co, said it is the latest in a number of recent restructurings at Cordis, whose annual sales have plunged to about $2.5 billion, from more than $4 billion in 2006.
'This is another step to respond to its sales declines and market-share losses,' Jonas said.
Sales within the Cordis unit fell almost 10 percent in the fourth quarter, to $629 million. That made it the most poorly performing of J&J's many medical device businesses, and the main reason the company's overall devices and diagnostics sales were virtually flat in the period.
Cordis has suffered in the past few years as Abbott Laboratories Inc's newer Xience heart stent leapfrogged Cypher, to become the preferred option for patients and doctors.
Meanwhile, Jonas said J&J's next-generation stent, called NEVO, has had numerous setbacks and may not make it to market for another two to three years.
'By then, it will be difficult for J&J to break back in,' Jonas said.
J&J, which had overall company sales declines in 2009 and 2010, has also been hurt by repeated recalls of Tylenol and other over-the-counter medicines that failed to adhere to quality-control standards.
(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Tim Dobbyn) Keywords: JOHNSONANDJOHNSON/ (Reuters Messaging: ransdell.pierson.reuters.com@reuters.net; 646-223-6034; ransdell.pierson@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.