Big jumps in sales of prescription drugs and medical devices helped Johnson & Johnson boost first-quarter profit nearly 7%, blowing past Wall Street forecasts. The health care giant on Tuesday raised and narrowed its 2021 financial forecasts. It reported a small drop in consumer health sales versus 2020’s first quarter, when consumers stocked up on over-the-counter medicines as the coronavirus pandemic set in and lockdowns began. Meanwhile, European safety monitors said their review of a handful of blood clots in people receiving J&J’s vaccine found it’s a very rare risk that’s outweighed by the vaccine’s benefits. The US review of the clots continues.
