Each Johnson & Johnson Scandal You Need To Know About

Discover the history of the drug company Johnson&Johnson. Also, learn about each Johnson & Johnson scandal you need to know about.

The History Of Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson(J&J) is one of the most well-known drug companies. It also has a strong presence in the consumer market. J&J's history began in 1886. 

Three brothers, Robert, James, and Edward, created the company. Robert Wood Johnson served as the first president. It wasn't until 1959, 73 years later, that J&J got into the pharmaceutical industry.

The brothers started the business after hearing a speech by Joseph Lister in 1885. He was an expert in infectious diseases. The new company would develop sterilization techniques and surgical dressings. J&J pioneered the first commercial first aid kits for railroad workers. 

Soon, however, they became the standard practice in treating injuries. J&J's first-aid kit became popular among industrial workers and general consumers.

In 1894, J&J released baby powder and maternity kits to make childbirth safer. Robert Wood's granddaughter, Mary Lea, was the first baby used on the baby powder label. 

When Robert died in 1910, his brother James became president. One of J&J's subsidiaries is Ethicon. It is a manufacturer of surgical sutures and wound closure devices. 

It became a separate company in 1949 to expand and diversify the J&J product line. Following World War II, Ethicon's market share rose from 15% to 70% worldwide.

Later, Johnson & Johnson decided to enter the drug market.

How Johnson & Johnson Became A Drug Company

In 1959, J&J acquired McNeil Laboratories in the U.S. and Cilag Chemie, AG in Europe. These two investments enabled the company to enter the drug industry. One McNeil product was the first prescription aspirin-free pain reliever, Tylenol.

During the 1960s and 1970s, J&J focused on growing its pharmaceuticals business. The company developed treatments for pain relief, mental disorders, and vision problems. At the same time, it continued to push its medical device products. 

It was in 1961 that Belgium's Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. joined the J&J family. The company is a critical part of its corporate structure to this day.

Its founder, Dr Paul Janssen, was one of the most innovative drug researchers of the 20th century. Today, Janssen is one of the world's leading research-based drug companies. 

Janssen split into three different businesses: 

Some of the most well-known Janssen products include: 

Since the 1980s, J&J has grown in most medical research and development areas. It created several inventions, such as: 

Johnson & Johnson also revolutionized cardiology.

Johnson & Johnson Created The First Coronary Stent

Between 1976 and 1989, James E. Burke was chairman and CEO of J&J. During this time, J&J opened its first companies in China and Egypt.

In the 1990s, Ethicon's Endo-Surgery pioneered minimally invasive surgery. It uses small incisions and helps patients recover faster than with traditional surgery. 

In 1994, J&J created the first coronary stent called the Palmaz-Schatz stent. This invention revolutionized cardiology. Coronary stents keep vessels open so blood can flow to the heart. 

Later, another of J&J's companies, Cordis Corporation, introduced the first drug-eluting stent. It helped prevent the arteries from re-clogging. The company develops and produces medical equipment to treat heart disease.

William C. Weldon became the Chairman and CEO of J&J in 2002. Under his leadership, the company entered new therapeutic areas. One of these new areas was HIV/AIDS. It came about through the acquisition of Tibotec-Virco BVBA. 

Later, the company made even bigger acquisitions.

The Biggest Acquisitions Of Johnson & Johnson

In 2006, J&J acquired Pfizer Consumer Healthcare for $16.6 billion in cash. The investment included worldwide leading brands such as Listerine and Nicorette. 

In 2017, J&J made its biggest purchase, buying Swiss biotech Actelion for $30 billion. The company brought with it a group of medicines such as:

In 2020, J&J also bought Momenta for $6.5 billion. The deal meant that J&J added an inflammatory disease blockbuster, nipocalimab, to Janssen.

Johnson & Johnson is one of the world's largest health and wellness companies.

How Much Money Does Johnson & Johnson Make?

J&J operates in 60 different countries. It has three divisions: pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer products. Some of its iconic brand names include Band-Aid, Listerine, Visine, and Tylenol.

Part of J&J's success is its successful line of products. Their products include: 

The total revenue in 2024 was more than $88 billion. Cost of revenue was $27 billion, and gross profit was $61 billion. The company spent more on marketing and administration than on research and development. 

In November 2021, J&J announced it would split into two publicly traded companies. One company is a medical device business. The other focuses on consumer products.

During the company's lifetime, there have been numerous major scandals. One big Johnson & Johnson scandal was the drug Tylenol.

The Tylenol Johnson & Johnson Scandal

In 1982, seven people died after taking extra-strength Tylenol capsules. Someone had laced them with cyanide. An investigation later revealed that the cyanide came from the drug store, not the factory.

J&J ordered a nationwide recall and redesigned its packaging to prevent future tampering. The ordeal led the FDA to develop the first standards for pharmaceutical packaging. Another Johnson & Johnson scandal was Medicare price fixing.

The federal Medicare program began in 1965 in the U.S. For most of its history, it paid for hospital care, not routine drug pre­scriptions. 

Drug companies had to report the average wholesale prices of drugs. The government then reim­bursed the hospitals with the same amount.

However, companies charged hospitals less than the price reported to the government. Drug companies used this trick to boost the sales of medicines.

Oncologists soon opened infusion clinics outside of hospitals. They could get more profits themselves instead of sharing them with hospitals. 

In 2005, Medicare changed its reimbursement formula to crack down on some of this fraud. But the gaps between real and reported prices continued. Cancer medicine prices soared, so the drug markups got bigger and bigger. 

Doctors favored drugs that gave them the most money, whether they worked better or not. Many pa­tients pay a part of those costs out of their pockets. So, doctors became rich while bankrupting their patients. 

The EPO Johnson & Johnson scandal was another blunder by the company.

The Drug EPO Killed Cancer Patients

Erythropoietin(EPO) is a medication used to treat anemia by increasing red blood cells in the body. It's a drug Lance Armstrong used to win seven Tours de France. 

In 2003, a study in the Lancet revealed that EPO killed cancer patients. Half of them got EPO to prevent or treat anemia from chemotherapy treatments. About 500,000 American cancer patients died because of the drug.

An article in the New York Times quoted several cancer experts. Their view was that the study was an outlier. Researchers rarely challenge the financial interests of major drug companies. They fund their work. 

The study's senior author, Dr. Michael Henke, would not recommend the drug. For the first time, an EPO researcher refused to play along with the scam.

EPO carries risks to the heart. It also increases the growth of tumors. Most oncologists assumed that the drug's benefits outweighed its risks. J&J had, for 15 years, kept them in the dark. 

Days later, Paul Goldberg, the editor of the Cancer Letter, broke the news that Henke's study was not an outlier. By the time of Henke's study, EPO sales in cancer were bigger than any other drug.

Profits flowed not only to J&J but to almost every oncologist and hospital in the United States. Other trials found similar results to Henke's. In almost every case, the researchers didn't dare to blow the whistle.

The FDA called a public hearing of cancer experts in May 2004. During the meeting, a top J&J research executive admitted that the company had conducted at least five studies. 

They had to stop them when pa­tients getting EPO died more often than those getting a placebo. J&J executives dismissed the results of all these studies.

The company didn't get a fine for its EPO marketing. But Amgen, the partner in making and selling EPO, had to pay the price.

The most known Johnson & Johnson scandal involved asbestos found in baby powder.

Johnson & Johnson Sold Baby Powder That Contained Asbestos

J&J is famous for its talc-based products, such as baby powder and body sprays. These have a long history of testing positive for asbestos. Asbestos increases the risk of cancer. 

Talc is a mineral that can appear alongside asbestos in mines. J&J knew about the presence of asbestos in its talc for decades. However, the company kept the information from the public.

Many consumers developed mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases. The company faced countless asbestos lawsuits. J&J later removed talc from all its products globally in 2023.

The FDA found asbestos in a J&J's talc-based baby powder bottle in 2019. That bottle was part of a batch of 33,000 that the company recalled on October 18, 2019. 

Company documents revealed attempts to hide tests of its talc from Italy in 1957 and 1958. These tests showed contamination from toxic asbestos. Later tests of talc from Vermont also found asbestos.

Johnson & Johnson put several people at risk of getting cancer.

Talc Products Caused Cancer 

J&J claimed its talc was asbestos-free. But it put children at risk of asbestos exposure. Those who produced talc products were also in danger of getting mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Families weren't the only ones at risk from using J&J's products. Workers could bring home microscopic asbestos fibers on their clothes, hair, or skin. It led to secondary asbestos exposure. 

In 2024, the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that talc on the genitals led to ovarian cancer. Other studies showed that those who worked with talc were at risk for mesothelioma.

The company knew for years about this danger and how exposure led to cancer.  J&J said it settled 95% of the mesothelioma lawsuits it faced. But claims continued. The company responded in December 2024, claiming its cosmetic talc was safe. 

Courts have awarded billions of dollars to people who sued the company. The company still faces more than 60,000 ovarian cancer lawsuits. J&J now sells a cornstarch-based formula. But it insists on the safety of talc products.

The company's scandals didn't end there. Another Johnson & Johnson scandal was the opioid crisis.

Johnson & Johnson Accused Of Worsening The Opioid Crisis

Janssen is a drug division of J&J. Paul Janssen, a Belgian, founded Janssen. Paul Janssen invented an artificial opioid, fentanyl, in 1960. Opioids are a broad group of pain-relieving medicines.

They go through the blood and attach to opioid receptors in brain cells. These drugs block pain messages and can boost feelings of pleasure. At lower doses, opioids may make you feel sleepy. But higher doses can slow your breathing and heart rate, which can lead to death. 

In the early 1990s, Janssen Pharmaceuticals sold a fentanyl patch called Duragesic. It treats severe pain in people with cancer. The company claimed there was a slight chance of getting addicted to the drug.

J&J hired the consultants McKinsey & Company to identify opportunities to sell more. McKinsey told sales reps to focus on doctors already prescribing large amounts of OxyContin.

The consultants had a strategy to keep patients on Duragesic even if they had an adverse event. They wanted to get as many patients as possible off weaker opioids and use stronger ones.

Sales of Duragesic surged past $1 billion a year. Opioids increase the risk of abuse, addiction, and overdose. J&J still continued to promote opioids to other physicians.

Janssen's parent company, J&J, reached an agreement with a group of states. It would pay $5 billion to resolve Janssen's involvement in the opioid epidemic.

The next Johnson & Johnson scandal was the failure of the artificial hip implant.

The Artificial Hip Implant Failed At A Higher-Than-Expected Rate

Another J&J scandal was with the company's artificial hip implant. The company paid $2.5 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits related to the hip implants.

The ASR hip system in 2010 failed at a higher-than-expected rate. At the time, the company had sold about 93,000 systems worldwide.

Some patients who received the ASR hips had pain, swelling, and joint dislocation. The hip implant also damaged the central nervous system, thyroid, and heart. J&J estimated that 8,000 users would be eligible for compensation.

Another Johnson & Johnson scandal was the promotion of off-label uses of several drugs.

Johnson & Johnson Promoted Drugs For Off-Label Uses

From 2002 to 2003, Janssen introduced the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal for unapproved use. Risperdal is a drug to treat schizophrenia.

Janssen's sales representatives promoted Risperdal to doctors treating dementia patients. The company said it could treat anxiety, depression, hostility, and confusion.  

Janssen provided incentives for off-label promotion and paid kickbacks to doctors. J&J and Janssen were aware that Risperdal posed serious health risks for older people.

It increased the risk of strokes, but the company downplayed these risks. Janssen also knew that patients taking Risperdal had an increased risk of developing diabetes.

The company later promoted the drug for children and people with mental disabilities. J&J and Janssen knew that Risperdal posed certain health risks to children.  

Janssen instructed its sales representatives to call child psychiatrists and mental health facilities. They marketed Risperdal as safe and effective for symptoms of various childhood disorders. 

The FDA warned the company against promoting it for use in children. Janssen paid speaker fees to doctors to get them to prescribe Risperdal. 

J&J had to pay more than $2.2 billion to resolve allegations related to the drugs Risperdal, Invega, and Natrecor. It's one of the largest healthcare fraud settlements in the history of the United States.

Most of J&J's fines are safety-related and healthcare-related. These two categories have cost the company 23 $billion. 

Other minor fines came from consumer-protection-related, government-contracting-related, and competition-related offenses. They together cost the company 1.5$ billion in penalties.