Congress investigating J&J 'phantom recall'
June 1, 2010 The company's handling of problems with its Motrin tablets came
to light last week at a Congressional hearing to examine ongoing
quality issues with J&J medications. Lawmakers began investigating
the company over its most recent recall of more than 130 million
bottles of children's medicine, some of which contained tiny
particles of metal.
On Tuesday lawmakers announced an investigation into the
company's handling of an older quality issue with more than 88,000
Motrin packets distributed in 2008.
In a May 28 letter obtained by The Associated Press, a House
committee chairman asks J&J's CEO William Weldon to turn over
information relating to the so-called phantom recall.
"It raises the question of whether Johnson & Johnson placed a
higher priority on preserving the reputation of its Motrin brand
than it did on consumer protection," states the letter from
Chairman Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., who chairs the House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
A memo titled "Motrin Purchase Project," obtained by
congressional investigators instructs employees: "You should
simply 'act' like a regular customer while making these purchases.
There must be no mention of this being a recall of the product!"
J&J later recalled the medication in July 2009 after Food and
Drug Administration officials learned about the contractor's
activities.
Towns asks J&J to identify all J&J employees involved with the
decision to repurchase the Motrin. He also asks whether the company
has used contractors to repurchase products in other instances.
J&J spokesman Jeffrey Leebaw said in an e-mail the company will
"respond appropriately to the committee's request."
Last week FDA officials said they are considering criminal
charges against the New Brunswick, N.J.-based company, which has
been slow to fix manufacturing problems linked to three medicine
recalls in the last eight months.
The most recent recall involved more than 40 varieties of
children's medicine, including Tylenol, Benadryl, Motrin and other
products that make up nearly 70 percent of the market for pediatric
medications.
J&J has long enjoyed a sterling reputation for safety, earned in
the 1980s for quickly pulling bottles of Tylenol that had been
tainted with cyanide.