Johnson & Johnson has long believed that its first responsibility is to everyone who uses its products and services—including patients, doctors and nurses, mothers and fathers. It’s a value that’s even spelled out in Our Credo, the company’s guiding mission statement.
As the year winds to a close, we’re taking a look back at advances that have helped change—or are poised to help change—the future of healthcare around the world.
1.
Efficiently tracking medical devices—like sutures and artificial knees and hips—can cut down on injuries and errors. But until recently, there was no industry-wide standard for doing so. Unique Device Identifiers (UDIs) are changing that. Johnson & Johnson is one of the first healthcare companies in the world to embed UDIs into the barcodes on the approximately 70,000 different medical devices it sells in the United States.
2.
Suturing a wound typically required surgeons to hold tissue together as they tied knots to close the wound, which can be difficult to do. Johnson & Johnson’s STRATAFIX™ sutures, however, have a series of anchors affixed to them. This helps grab the tissue to maintain tension every time a surgeon passes through tissue; it also provides a watertight seal.
3.
The TECNIS Eyhance™ Toric II IOL (short for intraocular lens: the tiny artificial lens that replaces the eye’s natural lens when it’s removed during cataract surgery) provides the ability to clearly see images at a distance while simultaneously addressing astigmatism at the time of cataract surgery.
4.
Last year, following clearance for its use in anatomic shoulder arthroplasty, DePuy Synthes, a Johnson & Johnson MedTech company, received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use its INHANCE™ Shoulder System in reverse shoulder replacements, the most common type of shoulder replacement procedures.
5.
Johnson & Johnson has a number of clinical programs underway, which span the full spectrum of urothelial carcinoma. The goal: develop therapies that are less burdensome for all patients with bladder cancer.
6.
Johnson & Johnson is harnessing AI (artificial intelligence) to revolutionize healthcare as we know it—from catching and diagnosing diseases earlier to diversifying clinical trials, discovering and developing new drugs and helping surgeons analyze the results of procedures.
7.
A novel molecule discovered by a scientist at Johnson & Johnson 10 years ago was turned into a treatment for multiple myeloma that was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It’s welcome news for patients with later-line relapsed refractory multiple myeloma who need additional options to help manage the incurable illness.
8.
Johnson & Johnson’s Echelon™ 3000 makes it easier for surgeons to maneuver in tight spaces with more precision. It was designed to be used in a number of minimally invasive procedures—including thoracic, colorectal and bariatric surgeries—by a variety of surgeons, all of whom have different hand sizes and preferences.
9.
Johnson & Johnson scientists are using precision medicine technology to develop and refine novel treatments for diseases of the cardiovascular system, immune system and neurological system, as well as for pulmonary hypertension, infectious diseases, oncology and more.
10.
Scientists at Johnson & Johnson have developed an investigational sensitive blood test that measures one of the earliest biomarkers that change in people with Alzheimer’s. The goal of this blood test is to identify the disease in patients at a much earlier stage; researchers hope to start clinical trials soon. Data scientists and digital health experts at the company are also developing ways to use AI and augmented reality (AR) to identify people who are at the very earliest stages of cognitive decline.
11.
With the Teligen™ System, a disposable camera the size of a pinkie finger goes inside a tube and can be slid up and down and rotated in all directions, offering multidirectional and enhanced visualization during back procedures.
12.
Among the newest innovations for AFib (short for atrial fibrillation, a type of arrhythmia or abnormal heartbeat) are two catheters developed by Biosense Webster, a Johnson & Johnson MedTech company.
13.
Stroke Solutions™, a suite of technologies launched by Cerenovus, Inc., part of Johnson & Johnson MedTech, makes it easier and quicker for doctors to reach and remove blood clots in people who’ve experienced an ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke.
