J&J deal marks preventive health move

Remember Johnson & Johnson's Office of Strategy and Growth set up during that big reorg last year? Well, it's delivering on its mission. J&J is buying into preventive healthcare with the acquisition of HealthMedia, an online health-coaching firm that also offers software to help employers reduce healthcare costs. HealthMedia will form the core of a new division, headed up by Nicholas Valeriani, the chief of that strategy/growth office.

"We could now create a suite of products and services that are further upstream," Valeriani told the Wall Street Journal, adding that doing so might help stem the rising tide of healthcare costs.

The move marks another sort of diversification for J&J, which already has 250 operating companies in three healthcare segments: pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics, and consumer health.

- see J&J's release
- read the Wall Street Journal story
- get Pharmalot's take

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