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Medtech Leaders Speak Out On Impact of Global Tariffs

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Some Medtech companies recently addressed the potential impact of global tariffs in their Q1 2025 earnings calls.  Johnson & Johnson and Abbott were among the first to speak on the implications of these tariffs and how their companies are mitigating against associated risks.

In Johnson & Johnson’s recent earnings call, CFO Joseph Wolk answered questions about the company’s estimated $400 million in tariff-related costs in 2025. Wolk clarified this estimate “is primarily MedTech tariffs at this point” and is “based on the programs that have been announced and the timing that correlates with those programs.” Wolk also explained the company’s “most substantial” tariff costs were likely to be from “the China tariffs as well as the China retaliatory tariff.” Johnson & Johnson’s Chairman and CEO Joaquin Duato also addressed how tariffs can create supply chain disruptions, leading to product shortages. Duato explained that “[i]f what you want is to build manufacturing capacity in the US, both in medtech and pharmaceuticals, the most effective answer is no[t] tariffs but tax policy.” To build manufacturing capacity in the US, Duato explained that Johnson & Johnson is investing $55 billion over the next four years so that “essentially all our advanced medicines that are used in the US will be manufactured in the US.”

In Abbott Laboratories’ recent earnings call, Chairman and CEO Robert Ford estimated “the tariff impact in 2025 to be a few hundred million dollars.” Ford explained that Abbott is “well-positioned to implement mitigations to help manage the impact of the tariffs.” As one example, Ford described Abbott’s decades-long approach of mitigating risk “by spreading [our] manufacturing network out” and “manufacturing as close as possible to the customer [with] an appropriate amount of redundancy.”

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Sophia Zahn

Sophia Zahn is an associate in our San Diego office. Her practice focuses on patent prosecution and portfolio management, due diligence, IP strategy, transactions/agreements, and opinions/counseling. Sophia currently assists clients in various fields of technology including chemical, pharmaceutical, polymer/materials, and medical device fields.

Sophia earned her J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law where she served as Senior Editor on the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal and competed in the USPTO National Patent Application Drafting Competition. Additionally, Sophia was accepted into the Mann School of Pharmacy where she earned a graduate certificate in Regulatory and Clinical Affairs.

Sophia earned her M.S. in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied organic and polymer chemistry. Her research focused on synthesizing macrocyclic ligands linked to monomers, polymerizing those monomers, and forming organometallic complexes to obtain polymer-bound catalysts.

Sophia was a Summer Associate with Knobbe Martens in 2022 and joined the firm as an Associate in 2023.

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