July 18 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson, which completed its $30 billion acquisition of Swiss biotech Actelion last month, reported a 4.3 percent fall in quarterly profit, as costs rose.

The company's net earnings fell to $3.83 billion, or $1.40 per share, in the second quarter, from about $4 billion, or $1.43 per share, a year earlier.

The Band-Aid maker generated sales of $18.84 billion in the quarter, compared with $18.48 billion a year earlier.

J&J is the first among major pharmaceutical companies to report its quarterly results, and the report comes a day after a second Republican effort to pass healthcare legislation in the Senate collapsed. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)