Johnson and Johnson Dodges Bad Press through Use of Subsidiaries

Mega-company Johnson & Johnson is the brand we trust; they make Band-Aids, Listerine, and soothing creams, and they’ve been around for years. That trust is eroding. In response to allegations that talc causes ovarian cancer, the company’s official position has been outright denial. The refusal to acknowledge a problem isn’t a new issue; J&J lied to US Food & Drug Administration in 2008 during the “phantom recall” of defective children’s Motrin, an indication of a corporate culture that believes it may be above the law.

The company is losing the image it has maintained for more than a century because the public is better informed than ever before; it doesn’t take more than a cursory search to find that Johnson & Johnson owns more than 250 subsidiaries. The following four major cover-ups seem to have been engineered by J&J, even though the subsidiary’s name is the one that everyone remembers:

Janssen & Risperdal

Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, helped to develop Risperdal, an antipsychotic approved by the FDA in 1994 for the treatment of schizophrenia. Almost immediately, studies found that Risperdal posed a serious risk of substantial weight gain and increased the risk of cancer, osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, cardiac arrest, and sudden death in the elderly. Janssen (read, J&J) reported only positive results to the FDA and hid information about the dangers. The full range of warnings weren’t included on the drug’s label until after a series of lawsuits. After the label was changed, the company sent letters to doctors to reassure them of the safety of the drug. The content of those letters contained intentional misinformation, for which the company is facing additional and continuous litigation.

DePuy Hip Implants

DePuy manufactured one of the first metal-on-metal hip designs, and sold surgeons on the durability and precision machining. Recipients of the implant began experiencing metal poisoning from metal-on-metal friction, which eroded the ball and cup components and caused loosening and dislocation. More than 7500 lawsuits were filed against DePuy (J&J) in 2012 & 2013 by patients who required surgery to replace the faulty system and dialysis to purge heavy metal ions from their bodies.

Ethicon’s Transvaginal Mesh

Ethicon was one of the first manufacturers to introduce transvaginal mesh implants in the late 1990s. The mesh was hailed as a godsend to treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women. The implants were a huge success; more than 300,000 women were implanted with the device in 2010. It wasn’t long before the dangerous side effects became apparent; mesh erosion, severe pain, organ perforation, and bleeding & scarring were just some of the problems. More than 25,000 lawsuits, filed by victims, are pending against Ethicon (J&J).

The headlines carry the names we remember, but the company responsible for failing to be completely forthcoming to the government, the healthcare industry and everyone else is Johnson & Johnson. This type of behavior is reprehensible, and it seems that neither censure nor protest can change J&J’s corporate culture. All that remains is to fight the good fight, and let the justice system work as intended.

If you or a loved one has been a victim of Johnson & Johnson’s systematic negligence, you may be entitled to compensation. The experienced defective drug and defective medical device attorneys at McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips LLC are currently taking cases in South Carolina and throughout the country. We can evaluate your case and help get you the compensation you deserve. Call 803-327-7800 or contact us today for a free consultation.