Johnson & Johnson suspends sales forecast for Covid vaccine

Johnson&Johnsonsuspendedsalesforecasts for itsCovid-19vaccineduring the American pharmaceutical giant's quarterly earnings call Tuesday, as demand lags behind that of shots by Moderna and Pfizer.

"Given global supply surplus and demand uncertainty, the Company is suspendingCOVID-19Vaccinesalesguidance," J&J said in a statement, adding that the move will have "no impact to adjusted operational earnings per share."

The company's chief executive Joaquin Duato said the first quarter results,in which estimated reportedsalesexcludingCovid-19vaccinesalesfigures were up 3.8 to 4.8 percent over the same period one year ago,"demonstrate strong performance across the enterprise, despite macro-economic headwinds."

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On Wall Street, J&J's stock was down 0.4 to $177 in electronic trading before the New York Stock Exchange opening bell.

Back in February The New York Times reported thatJohnson&Johnsonhad temporarily suspended production at a key plant manufacturing itsCovid-19vaccine, although the company stressed it was still fulfilling its delivery commitments.

J&J said at the time it was projectingsalesof $3 billion to $3.5 billion in 2022 for itsCovidshot, much less than the $32 billionforecastby Pfizer for the same period.

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A US government-appointed panel of medical experts on Thursday unanimously recommended mRNACovidvaccinesmade by Pfizer and Moderna over J&J's shot.

J&J'svaccinewas initially praised because it could be stored at fridge temperature and offered good efficacy against earlier strains of the coronavirus after just one shot.

But evidence later emerged linking it to a rare form of clotting, particularly among women of child-bearing age, causing authorities to briefly halt and then resume its use in April last year.