Johnson & Johnson has kicked off the reporting season by posting an 8.5% increase in sales for the second quarter, helped by a strong showing of its prostate cancer Zytiga.

Net income came in at $3.83 billion, up from $1.41 billion compared to the like, year-earlier period, helped by a gain on the sale of its stake in Ireland's Elan Cor. Turnover reached $17.88 billion, while worldwide pharmaceutical sales were up 11.7% to $7.03 billion.

J&J’s biggest seller was once again the Merck & Co-partnered anti-inflammatory Remicade (infliximab), sales of which were up 9.8% to $1.67 billion, while the latter’s follow-up Simponi (golimumab) shot up 40.0% to $175 million.

The most striking performance came from Zytiga (abiraterone), which  contributed $395 million to J&J's coffers, up 70.3%, while sales of Velcade (bortezomib) for multiple myeloma rose 19.2% to $379 million. Stelara (ustekinumab) for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis climbed 49.6% to $371 million, while the HIV therapy Prezista (darunavir) rose 16.6% to $435 million.