Executive Summary
It is an American company founded in 1886 that deals the manufacture of medical devices, packaged goods and pharmaceuticals. Dow Jones Industrial Average is the common stock component of the company. The company is ranked among the largest corporations in the United States by total revenue. The company’s headquarters is in New Brunswick New Jersey USA with 250 subsidiary companies in 60 countries whereas its products are sold to over 175 countries in the world.
The company is involved in most number of litigations. This is because of its business of consumer health products, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. They include the following;
- Intellectual Property
This is cases where the company is suing to keep off the market a generic product or on the other hand defending an invalidation of one of its patent by a generic company. The cases the is litigating or has already settled includes the following
-Six lawsuits to protect the patent for cancer drug Zytiga.
-Settled litigation of HIV drug Complera
-Litigation against the University of Texas alleging that there infringement of its patents by sutures made by Ethicon which is a subsidiary company.
- Government Suits
These are lawsuits brought by cities, counties or any other government body like the case litigated by a number of states for the damage Opioid has caused to its citizens.
- Product liability
The company is facing a lot of legal suits against its products. It is facing litigation on 53,000 suits against the product Pelvic Mesh, 13,000 against schizophrenia drug Risperdal and 6,600 against Talcum powder.
History of Johnson & Johnson
Robert Wood Johnson through an inspiration by lawyer Joseph Lister joined his two brothers Edward Mead Johnson and James Wood Johnson in creating surgical dressing ready to use in 1885. The company then produced its first products in the following year 1886 and then in the year 1887, the company was incorporated.
Robert Wood Johnson took the helm of the company as the first president of the company and worked towards improving the sanitation practices in the 19th century. Upon his death in 1910, he was succeeded by his brother James wood Johnson who worked until 1932 and was succeeded by his son Robert Wood Johnson II.
Johnson & Johnson Subsidiaries
There are over 250 subsidiary companies of Johnson & Johnson in over 60 countries all over the world.
The following are some and major subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson;
- McNeil Medical Products and McNeil Consumer Products(McNeil Consumer Healthcare)
In 1879, McNeil consumer healthcare was formed by Robert McNeil. In 1933, McNeil laboratories was formed which dwelt on direct marketing to doctors, hospitals and pharmacists of their prescription drugs. In 1959, Johnson & Johnson acquired McNeil laboratories which within one year was able to sell Tylenol for the first time without any prescription. In the year 1977, two subsidiary companies were created; the McNeil Medical products and the McNeil Consumer products which is also known as the McNeil Consumer Healthcare. This company markets prescription and over the counter medicals products for both adults and children.
- Cilag (Chemical Industry Laboratory AG)
In Schaffhausen Switzerland, Bernhard Joos set a very small laboratory in 1933. This grew slowly and later in may 1936, Cilag Company was formed from the set basis of Cilag. Later Cilag joined Johnson & Johnson group of companies in 1959 and became one the subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson. Cilag involved itself on the over the counter operations and research and development and other international services through manufacturing.
Constant Janssen got the distribution right to distribute pharmaceuticals products of Richter, a company from Hungary in 1933. He was a father to Paul Janssen and was distributing in Belgium and Netherlands. Within the Richter Company, Paul Janssen formed his own research laboratory in 1953. The name of this company changed to NV Laboratoria Pharmaceutical C. Janssen, the name of the father. On February 1964, the company after gaining its own entity was acquired by Johnson & Johnson company, the American based hence becoming its subsidiary. The company then involved itself in over the counter operations and other research and manufacturing of pharmaceutical products. Its scope of business is over the world and also offering some other international pharmacy services.
- DePuy
The company was acquired by the Johnson & Johnson Company in 1998 setting it to medical devices family and group.
- Micrus Endovascular
This company was majorly involved in hemorrhage and ischemic strokes manufacturing its invasive devices. It was operating under Codman Neurovascular. In 2010, Johnson & Johnson Company completed the acquisition of this company becoming among its major subsidiary companies in the world.
- Janssen Biotech
The company was founded in Philadelphia in 1979 and was formerly called Centocor Biotech. It is a biotechnology company. The company was made wholly and acquired by Johnson & Johnson to be part of its lager family group in 1999. Since then, the operations of Janssen Biotech have increased tremendously with both research and sales going high.
- Ethicon
A facility was opened by George F. Merson in 1915 and its functions were to manufacture, package and sterilize Catgut, nylon and silk sutures in Edinburg. In 1947, Johnson & Johnson Company acquired Mr. George Mersons’ facility and renamed it Ethicon Sature Laboratories. The company became part of the J & J family and on itself acquired other companies like Ethicon Endo Surgery.
- Actelion
There was a fierce completion for Swiss drug maker company Actelion by Johnson & Johnson Company and Sanofi. But in January 2017, Johnson & Johnson acquired it making it one of its many subsidiary companies all over the world at a cost of $30 billion.
The Johnson & Johnson Company has acquired other many companies and still acquiring some. All its subsidiaries work in the scope of its business and none of them works outside the pharmaceutical industry and manufacture of medical devices.
Popular Johnson & Johnson Products
The company’s business is divided into three categories namely;
-Pharmaceuticals
-Medical Devices
-Consumer products
Pharmaceutical Products
The major franchise of the company in the pharmaceutical category includes; infectious disease, immunology, oncology and Neuroscience.
The major Infectious Disease products includes the following; inhibitors (Hepatitis C Protease, HIV Polymerase, HIV Protease), Incivio, and prezista.
The main Immunology products of Johnson & Johnson company includes; Anti tumor necrosis factor antibodies, Simponi and Sterala.
The oncology products include velcade and Zytiga for the treatment of prostate cancer.
Medical Devices
In medical devices the company is active in the following sectors; Aesthetics, Hernia surgery, ear nose and throat infections, diabetes care and cardiovascular diseases offering all the medical devices required in this sectors and many other more ailments.
Consumer Products
In Consumer products, Johnson & Johnson is very active in the following sectors; Nutritionals, Baby care, over the counter medicines and oral health. The company offers great and quality products under the sectors and many other more.
Johnson & Johnson Product Recalls and Lawsuits
In Chicago metropolitan area in 1982, seven individuals after ingesting the more strength Tylenol died. The Tylenol was deliberately laced with Cyanide. Within a period of one month, Johnson & Johnson Company recalled over 1 million bottles of Tylenol from retailers with the USA making it one of the major recalls in the history of America. This case remains unresolved up to now and no suspects have ever been charged over the same issue.
- 2010 Hip Replacement Recall
A subsidiary of the Johnson & Johnson Company called Depuy recalled its ASR (Articlar surface replacement) hip prostheses from its market in August 2010. It had several effects and it had failed in some patients prompting for the recall. Its effects left some patients with long term disability because it affected the soft tissues surrounding the joints. In 2013, the company was ordered to pay one man over $8.3 million and more than 10,000 other cases pending.
McNeil Consumer healthcare, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson Company in April 2010 recalled 43 over the counter medicines. This recall was done after an inspection was done to the manufacturing of this products and it was revealed that some products did not meet the specific requirements and specifications. All the products were listed and recalled back to the company.
- Shareholders Suit
The board of Johnson & Johnson Company was sued by some group of directors in 2010. They claimed that the board allegedly failed totally to take any action and prevent very serious illegalities and failings since the 1990s. The case was dismissed in September 2011 but the judge allowed the plaintiff to refile the case in a later time or date.
Johnson & Johnson Settlements
Talcum Settlement for over $1.5 Million
The company Johnson & Johnson reached an agreement to settle a woman in New York who claimed the talcum powder caused her cancer. The settlement amount was $1.5 million.
The company is also engaged in many other appeal cases which have not been concluded for settlement.
Tracy Everhart
Tracy Everhart is the Editor for Drug Law Journal. A highly-trained and certified medical professional, Tracy is also an accomplished medical writer. After spending years on the front lines of the medical profession, Tracy now devotes her expertise and skills to researching and reporting on new drugs and devices that enter the market, as well as their side-effects and the real-life stories involved. Prior to joining Drug Law Journal, Tracy wrote for benchmark online healthcare resources focused on families and, in particular, women’s health issues. Tracy holds post-graduate degrees from both the American College of Healthcare Sciences and the Yale School of Nursing. She is also a graduate of both Hampshire College, where she studied microbiology and the University of South Carolina school of nursing.
