Drug Discovery and Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Voices
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Janssen’s pulmonary hypertension division leader is upbeat about the future of PH treatment

The company laid the groundwork for its PH division through its $30B acquisition of Actelion in 2017.

By Brian Buntz | August 31, 2021

JanssenA few decades ago, an HIV diagnosis was akin to a death sentence. But with proper treatment including antiretroviral therapy, HIV patients can often expect to have a normal life expectancy.

David Jimenez, former president of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Infectious Diseases, is confident that similar breakthroughs can happen in pulmonary hypertension. “We’re not there yet,” said Jimenez, who is now the U.S. president of Janssen’s new Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) division. “That is why our focus is to really improve the lives of patients, and hopefully one day cure it.”

Pulmonary hypertension is a new therapeutic focus for Janssen. Up until recently, Janssen focused on five therapeutic areas: cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, immunology, neuroscience and oncology, and infectious diseases and vaccines.

The company’s 2017 acquisition of Actelion for $30 billion made PH a sixth focus area.

David Jimenez

David Jimenez

In the second quarter of 2021 the division delivered 8.7% in operational growth, generating close to $870 million in total sales.

Notable drugs in the division include Uptravi (selexipag) with year-over-year sales growth of 9.8% in the second quarter and Opsumit (macitentan), whose sales increased 11.9% in the same time period.

Jimenez credits regular contact with healthcare providers as indispensable in understanding the PH treatment landscape in the midst of a pandemic.

Beginning his current role in June 2020, Jimenez estimated he connected with 80 to 90 physicians via one-on-one virtual meetings in the first three months of his job. The goal of such visits is to learn more about the disease and how to best help patients.

The focus is on obtaining information to drive “agility and innovation,” Jimenez said.

Such focus also is driving internal change in the midst of a pandemic. But as a trained pharmacist, Jimenez also keeps a close watch on the pandemic’s impact on patient care.

UPTRAVISince the pandemic broke out, “we’ve seen a dramatic drop in patients getting diagnosed [with PH],” Jimenez said. Many pulmonologists have been forced to focus on COVID-19 complications, while many patients with shortness of breath and other PH symptoms have resisted in-person medical visits, making diagnosis difficult.

Janssen also has invested in patient support programs to help ensure that existing PH patients remain on treatment. The company has developed tools to help patients track PH health measures and symptoms, and work with physicians to establish treatment goals.

Jimenez stressed that such a focus on patients is central to his leadership approach. “This is going to sound like a stereotype, but it’s true:  At some point, when you grow in your career, you realize it is not about you anymore,” he said. “It’s about the team that you’re leading, and it’s about keeping your focus on the patients.”


Filed Under: Pulmonology
Tagged With: David Jimenez, Janssen, pulmonary hypertension
 

About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.

Related Articles Read More >

Insilico Medicine
Insilico’s AI-designed rentosertib shows promise in first phase 2a trial results
GSK
GSK’s Nucala wins U.S. nod as first IL-5 biologic for COPD
Alex Zhavoronkov
Q&A: How Insilico Medicine’s AI identified a new IPF drug target in record time
Human Circulatory System Heart Anatomy
Fixed-dose macitentan-tadalafil polypill outperforms monotherapies in PAH
“ddd
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest news and trends happening now in the drug discovery and development industry.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
Drug Discovery and Development
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • Medtech100 Index
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Medical Design & Outsourcing
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • R&D World
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Drug Discovery & Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Voices
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE