Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Encouraging Riptac (Prostate) And Rybrevant (H&N) Data Out Of ESMO

Exiting ESMO and our catch-up with the company, we see updates on JNJ-6143 (Halda Riptac) as suggesting a potentially differentiated pipeline asset in prostate cancer on both efficacy and safety, and remain encouraged about Rybrevant data in the H&N space. The Ph1 data in mCRPC post ≥1 ARPI showed a 75% ORR at the 50mg dose selected for Ph2, with 71% of patients ongoing after 5.6 months of follow-up, activity irrespective of genomic features, and 0% grade 3+ TRAEs at 50mg; JNJ is moving to Ph3 in the mCRPC post-ARPI setting and exploring a broader program including mCSPC/HSPC and combinations. In HPV-unrelated head & neck cancer, Rybrevant plus Keytruda and chemotherapy produced a 77% ORR (N=22) versus 36% for Keytruda plus chemotherapy in CPS PD-L1 ≥1 patients. JNJ remains one of the cleaner names in the group with top-tier growth, but we see more limited upside given the premium valuation (21x 2027E EPS); we maintain a Neutral rating with a $285 price target.