Medical-device sales should bolster J&J, Abbott

By Val Brickates Kennedy, MarketWatch BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Medical-products conglomerates Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Laboratories are expected to report higher sales this week, largely due to continued strong growth of medical-device sales. J&J , the world's largest health-care-product purveyor, is slated to roll out its third-quarter earnings report early Tuesday. J&J's top line will reflect the recent loss of patent protection for its widely prescribed antipsychotic Risperdal and competition for its Cypher coronary stent from Abbott's newly launched Xience. Abbott's new stent is also being marketed by Boston Scientific under the brand name Promus. In a recent note, analysts at Deutsche Bank said they believe some of the drop in stent and Risperdal sales will be offset by strengthening sales of oncology drug Velcade and... [read full story]