J&J; Developing Contraceptive Patch

Johnson & Johnson, the leading maker of oral contraceptives, is developing a patch that delivers contraceptives through the skin and lasts a week. The New Brunswick, N.J.-based conglomerate is in the final stages of testing the Evra patch in several hundred women. It said the patches contain the same ingredients as birth-control pills and work just as well. J&J; plans to seek Food and Drug Administration approval next year, and that the FDA review could take a year or more. Also working on the patch is Cygnus Inc. of Redwood City, Calif., a company that specializes in developing drugs delivered through the skin. Separately, J&J; reported that its second-quarter net income rose 15% from the like period a year ago, to $1.16 billion, or 84 cents a share. That is 2 cents higher than the average estimate of analysts polled by earnings tracker First Call Corp. Revenue rose 18.5% to $6.9 billion, led by the drug-making unit.Sales in the consumer division rose 7.4%. J&J; stock rose 50 cents to close at $96.44 on the NYSE; Cygnus was unchanged at $10 on Nasdaq.