Looks like Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) hit a roadblock in developing three experimental products the company acquired as part of its takeover of Dutch vaccine maker Crucell.
The company last year said it planned to submit three products for approval by the end of 2015--but now J&J says that timetable won't pan out. The products--FlumAb, a universal monoclonal antibody being studied to prevent influenza; FluCell, a cell-based flu vaccine; and a rabies antibody--came with J&J's buyout of Crucell. Last year, the company spent $2 billion for the part of the company it didn't already own; J&J had already acquired 18% of Crucell for $450 million.
The company did not specify a reason for the delay, The Wall Street Journal reports.
"We're still moving forward with them, and we haven't disclosed what the new filing dates may be," J&J spokeswoman Seema Kumar told the publication. "They just are not falling in the 2015 time frame."
J&J hoped the purchase of Crucell would give it a leg up in the vaccines business and a stronger hold in emerging markets. The company plans to work on both preventative and therapeutic vaccines.
- more from The Wall Street Journal