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backed out of an acquisition agreement and instead was purchased by Boston Scientific Corp.Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected earnings per share of $1.05 and sales of $14.44 billion.Sales totaled $15.04 billion, up nearly 16 percent from $12.99 billion a year earlier.

Operational sales growth, which excludes the impact of new products and currency exchange rates, was 6.3 percent.Revenues from the medical devices and diagnostics division edged up 6.2 percent to $5.32 billion, hurt by a 14 percent slide at Cordis, J&J's cardiovascular device business.

Sales of Cordis' drug-coated stents, tiny metal scaffolds that prop open arteries and slowly release medicine, were problematic, Chief Financial Officer Dominic Caruso told analysts during a conference call.

He was referring to new concerns about the safety and effectiveness of J&J's Cypher and other drug-coated stents.Sales of prescription drugs, J&J's biggest business segment, rose 10.6 percent to $6.22 billion, led by strong sales of epilepsy tr...

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