NEW BRUNSWICK, USA (AP) — Higher spending across the board drove Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) third-quarter profit down 12 per cent, despite a big sales jump fuelled by recent acquisitions, hot new cancer drugs, and strong sales of other key medicines.

However, the health care giant easily topped Wall Street expectations. With momentum in product sales across all three business segments, Johnson & Johnson boosted its financial forecast for the third time this year.

Shares an hit all-time high of US$137.85, up US$1.83 or 1.4 per cent, in pre-market trading yesterday.

Sales of prescription medicines soared 15.4 per cent to US$9.7 billion, boosted by blood cancer drug Imbruvica, Darzalex for multiple myeloma, blood thinner Xarelto, and immune disorder drug Stelara. Sales of some older drugs declined amid pressure for lower prices and increased competition from other brand-name drugs or generics, particularly top seller Remicade for rheumatoid arthritis and other immune disorders.

Those declines were offset by US$670 million in revenue from Swiss biopharmaceutical company Actelion’s drugs for dangerously high blood pressure in the lungs. J&J bought it in June for US$30 billion, opening a sixth disease area as a major focus, along with drugs for cancer, infectious diseases and immune, neurological and cardiovascular conditions.

Meanwhile, the Band-Aid maker finally threw in the towel on experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug Sirukumab after disappointing testing results, and said it’s stopped its patient study of leukaemia drug Talacotuzumab, without giving a reason.

Sales of consumer health products such as Tylenol and Neutrogena skin care rose 2.9 per cent, to $3.4 billion, and sales of Acuvue contact lenses and other medical devices jumped 7.1 per cent, to US$6.6 billion. Device sales were boosted US$291 million by this year’s acquisition of Abbott Medical Optics, which sells products for Lasik and eye cataract surgery.

The New Brunswick, New Jersey, company reported overall sales of US$19.7 billion, up from US$17.8 billion in 2016’s third quarter. That exceeded analyst forecast for US$19.28 billion.