Johnson & Johnson Reports Strong Sales despite Levaquin Side Effects

New York, NYDespite studies that have shown serious Levaquin side effects, sales of the antibiotic rose 17 percent to $434 million last quarter, reports Reuters.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">According to the news provider, Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Levaquin, reported overall quarterly earnings that were stronger than expected, particularly as the company has been plagued recently by a number of recalls.

"It was a good quarter, and it was really the pharmaceuticals division that led the way," Gabelli & Co. analyst Jeff Jonas told the news source. "And the division has a bright future because it has a strong pipeline" of experimental medicines.

Over the past 16 months, Johnson & Johnson has recalled more than 300 million packages of Tylenol and other over-the-counter medications, according to the news source.

For its part, Levaquin has been linked with tendinitis and tendon rupture. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, other less serious side effects of the antibiotic can include nausea, stomach pain, headache, difficulty breathing and flu-like symptoms.