Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky spoke with CNBC at the J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference discussing tax reforms and the outlook for mergers and acquisitions in the medtech space.
Here are five key trends from the discussion:
1. On tax reform: "We are very pleased to see tax reform went through. The fact that we now actually have a competitive tax rate that we've got a construct in place to repatriate cash and earnings from overseas will give us much more flexibility and the opportunity to make us much more competitive."
2. Future acquisitions: "In terms of how [the tax bill] will fundamentally affect our overall M&A strategy, I don't think that it really will. Really that starts with science, the right deal, the right company, the right culture, being able to integrate it in. But it certainly gives us more flexibility and makes us more competitive in the long run."
3. Amazon entering the market: "What I would say about Amazon is we have a very good partnership with them on the consumer side and we are talking to them, we sell through many of the big chains we work with, and we also sell directly, but what I would encourage anybody — whether it's in pharma, med device, OTC — we should all be acting like Amazon is getting into our business because frankly we've got to create a crisis. We have to make sure we're always competitive, that we are always thinking about how can we be more effective, how can we be more efficient?"
4. Would you welcome Amazon in?: "If it leads to better customer satisfaction, price transparency for example around pricing, if it leads to better satisfaction for patients, then of course I welcome them in."
Are you in talks with them?: "I won't go down that road right now. I think having healthy competition can be a positive thing. The important thing is to keep the patient and consumer in mind."
5. Consumer segments: "Our consumer segment has been a core, iconic brand for Johnson & Johnson, whether it's baby products, Neutrogena, Avena, Tylenol, we have some great franchises and while they did perform down slightly they were actually about flat in the third quarter and the third quarter of the year and earlier part of the year…we remain very confident in that franchise."