Johnson and Johnson, whose foundation is the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation the leader of anti-smoking legislation and smoking bans, has had over 50 products removed from the shelves in the past 15 months.
Recalls on a partial lists of items are: DePuy’s ASR XL Acetabular System (knee replacement), Tylenol, Ortho Evra birth-control patch, Rolaids, Motrin, Benadryl, and St. Joseph Aspirin, Topamax, Zyrtec, 1-Day Acuvue and TruEye.
Thousands of lawsuits have been initiated for defective drugs. “During the last decade, the company has been repeatedly confronted with claims that it sold a product that was defective, or that carried risks J&J downplayed in its marketing. It has been accused of paying kickbacks and using other financial incentives to promote off-label use of drugs and devices. It has been cited by federal authorities for trying to avoid the publicity of a recall by quietly buying up tainted products”.
“Parsing the problems at J&J leads many analysts to identify three likely causes, none of them mutually exclusive: decentralization, fat margins, and lapses in leadership.”Each division has its own culture, and they fell off the tracks at the same time," says Loss of Washington Analysis.”
J&J will survive the lawsuits since they have a reserve of 28 billion dollars but will they be able to regain their good name? That remains to be seen.
With all their quality control issues, recalls and pending lawsuits it is time for them to stop lobbying for smoking bans and
clean up their own house.
0 Comments