Latest news with #RobertWoodJohnson
The Sun
10-07-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Cheap kitchen staple ‘protects against tragic sudden infant death' which kills hundreds of kids a year, scientists say
A POPULAR household ingredient could be key in preventing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), say researchers. They explain it could prevent dangerous drops in oxygen that may trigger deaths. 1 In the UK, approximately 200 babies die each year from SIDS, also known as cot death. The exact cause is unknown, but it's believed to be a combination of factors, including a vulnerability in the infant's development and environmental stressors. Experts say placing a baby to sleep on their back reduces the risk, while exposing a baby to cigarette smoke or allowing them to overheat increases the risk. And now researchers at Rutgers Health suggest caffeine could also offer protection. SIDS is a leading cause of death for infants between one month and one year of age. "We've been concerned about why the rates haven't changed," said Dr Thomas Hegyi, a neonatologist at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and lead author of the study. "So, we wanted to explore new ways of approaching the challenge." Many of the known risk factors for SIDS share a physiological common denominator - "intermittent hypoxia". Intermittent hypoxia is a condition where a person experiences repeated episodes of low oxygen levels (hypoxia) interspersed with periods of normal oxygen levels (normoxia). What can counter intermittent hypoxia? Caffeine, said Hegyi. Beautiful' baby boy dies after mum fell asleep cuddling him into her when he woke up crying in the night Caffeine has long been used as a safe treatment for apno e a in premature infants, stimulating breathing. But what makes caffeine particularly intriguing as a proposed preventative measure is how infants process it. While adults metabolise caffeine in about four hours, in newborns, it can be as long as 100 hours - and it can stay in their system for weeks. This may explain why SIDS peaks between two and four months of age. As infants mature, they begin metabolising caffeine more quickly. So the researchers, in their findings published in the Journal of Perinatology, suggest caffeine consumed during pregnancy or passed through breast milk might provide early protection that wanes as metabolism speeds up. The theory could also explain why breastfeeding appears to protect against SIDS. "We hypothesise that the protection afforded by breast milk is, in part, due to caffeine," wrote the researchers. Barbara Ostfeld, a professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the programme director of the SIDS Centre of New Jersey and co-author of the paper, said if the theory proves true, giving infants caffeine would complement, not replace, existing risk reduction strategies. The researchers plan to test their hypothesis by comparing caffeine levels in infants who died of SIDS with those who died from other causes, such as trauma or disease. They also said it was important to note this is hypothesis-generating research meant to inspire further studies, and not a recommendation for parents to give their babies caffeine. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexpected death of a baby under the age of 12 months where no cause is found. Around 89 per cent of deaths happen when the tot is under six months old. It is relatively rare, with 182 babies dying from SIDS in the UK in 2021. While doctors don't know exactly what triggers it, there are ways to significantly reduce the chances of SIDS occurring: Put your baby on their back for all sleeps - day and night Share a room with your baby for the first six months Place your baby on their own, clear, flat sleep surface (e.g. cot or Moses basket) Keep your baby smoke-free during pregnancy and after birth Never sleep on a sofa or armchair Do not co-sleep if you or anyone in the bed has been drinking alcohol, smoking, or taking drugs or medication that makes you drowsy These things are especially important for babies who were born prematurely or of a low birth weight, as they are typically at higher risk of SIDS. Source: The Lullaby Trust
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Posts Q4 Sales In Line With Estimates
Multinational healthcare company Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) met Wall Street's revenue expectations in Q4 CY2024, with sales up 5.3% year on year to $22.52 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.04 per share was 1.3% above analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy Johnson & Johnson? Find out in our full research report. Revenue: $22.52 billion vs analyst estimates of $22.5 billion (5.3% year-on-year growth, in line) Adjusted EPS: $2.04 vs analyst estimates of $2.01 (1.3% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $6.84 billion vs analyst estimates of $6.22 billion (30.4% margin, 9.9% beat) Operating Margin: 16.1%, down from 19.9% in the same quarter last year Free Cash Flow Margin: 21.9%, down from 29.3% in the same quarter last year Constant Currency Revenue rose 6.5% year on year (3.8% in the same quarter last year) Market Capitalization: $368.1 billion Founded in 1886 by Robert Wood Johnson in New Jersey, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) develops and sells pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer health products. The branded pharmaceutical industry relies on a high-cost, high-reward business model, driven by substantial investments in research and development to create innovative, patent-protected drugs. Successful products can generate significant revenue streams over their patent life, and the larger a roster of drugs, the stronger a moat a company enjoys. However, the business model is inherently risky, with high failure rates during clinical trials, lengthy regulatory approval processes, and intense competition from generic and biosimilar manufacturers once patents expire. These challenges, combined with scrutiny over drug pricing, create a complex operating environment. Looking ahead, the industry is positioned for tailwinds from advancements in precision medicine, increasing adoption of AI to enhance drug development efficiency, and growing global demand for treatments addressing chronic and rare diseases. However, headwinds include heightened regulatory scrutiny, pricing pressures from governments and insurers, and the looming patent cliffs for key blockbuster drugs. Patent cliffs bring about competition from generics, forcing branded pharmaceutical companies back to the drawing board to find the next big thing. Reviewing a company's long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years. Over the last five years, Johnson & Johnson grew its sales at a mediocre 5.4% compounded annual growth rate. This fell short of our benchmark for the healthcare sector, but there are still things to like about Johnson & Johnson. Long-term growth is the most important, but within healthcare, a half-decade historical view may miss new innovations or demand cycles. Johnson & Johnson's annualized revenue growth of 5.4% over the last two years aligns with its five-year trend, suggesting its demand was consistently weak. Johnson & Johnson also reports sales performance excluding currency movements, which are outside the company's control and not indicative of demand. Over the last two years, its constant currency sales averaged 4.9% year-on-year growth. Because this number aligns with its normal revenue growth, we can see Johnson & Johnson's foreign exchange rates have been steady. This quarter, Johnson & Johnson grew its revenue by 5.3% year on year, and its $22.52 billion of revenue was in line with Wall Street's estimates. Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 1.2% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. This projection is underwhelming and suggests its products and services will face some demand challenges. At least the company is tracking well in other measures of financial health. Here at StockStory, we certainly understand the potential of thematic investing. Diverse winners from Microsoft (MSFT) to Alphabet (GOOG), Coca-Cola (KO) to Monster Beverage (MNST) could all have been identified as promising growth stories with a megatrend driving the growth. So, in that spirit, we've identified a relatively under-the-radar profitable growth stock benefiting from the rise of AI, available to you FREE via this link. Adjusted operating margin is an important measure of profitability as it shows the portion of revenue left after accounting for all core expenses – everything from the cost of goods sold to advertising and wages. It's also useful for comparing profitability across companies because it excludes non-recurring expenses, interest on debt, and taxes. Johnson & Johnson has been a well-oiled machine over the last five years. It demonstrated elite profitability for a healthcare business, boasting an average adjusted operating margin of 31.9%. Analyzing the trend in its profitability, Johnson & Johnson's adjusted operating margin decreased by 3 percentage points over the last five years. The company's two-year trajectory also shows it failed to get its profitability back to the peak as its margin fell by 2.8 percentage points. This performance was poor no matter how you look at it - it shows operating expenses were rising and it couldn't pass those costs onto its customers. In Q4, Johnson & Johnson generated an adjusted operating profit margin of 22.3%, down 4 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was recently less efficient because its expenses grew faster than its revenue. We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company's growth is profitable. Johnson & Johnson's EPS grew at an unimpressive 2.8% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, lower than its 5.4% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded. We can take a deeper look into Johnson & Johnson's earnings to better understand the drivers of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, Johnson & Johnson's adjusted operating margin declined by 3 percentage points over the last five years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its lower earnings; taxes and interest expenses can also affect EPS but don't tell us as much about a company's fundamentals. In Q4, Johnson & Johnson reported EPS at $2.04, down from $2.29 in the same quarter last year. Despite falling year on year, this print beat analysts' estimates by 1.3%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Johnson & Johnson's full-year EPS of $9.99 to grow 4.3%. It was good to see Johnson & Johnson narrowly top analysts' constant currency revenue expectations this quarter. On the other hand, its EPS was in line. Overall, this quarter could have been better. Should you buy the stock or not? If you're making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it's free. Sign in to access your portfolio
