On June 2, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform posted press releases regarding recent developments concerning McNeil and Johnson & Johnson.
The first release outlines a letter from Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY) asking Johnson & Johnson for more details in what Downs has described as a “phantom recall.”
The release states that the committee is seeking more information about whether or not the company hired a private contractor to visit retail stores and secretly purchase suspect Motrin rather than notifying the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about problems with the medication.
The committee learned of the “phantom recall” through an internal document uncovered as the committee preparing a hearing with Johnson and Johnson regarding recent drug recalls.
The document is entitled "CSCS Motrin Purchase Project" and the contractor was instructed as follows:
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! (emphasis in the original)
Chairman Downs explains in his letter to Johnson & Johnson:
It was not until the FDA caught Johnson and Johnson in the midst of the phantom recall that the company announced a proper recall of the flawed Motrin.
I am deeply concerned about this incident and I intend to get the bottom of it. The American people have trusted Johnson & Johnson for more than 100 years but what have uncovered raises serious questions about the integrity of this company.”
The second release described a letter from Chairman Towns to Blacksmith Brand regarding a recent recall of Pediacare products manufactured at plant scrutinized by the FDA and shut down by Johnson & Johnson in connection with a recall of over 130 million bottles of pediatric medicine.
Downs’ asked the company to provide answers to the following questions:
1. Is Blacksmith aware of any defect or contamination in any Blacksmith product that was manufactured at Johnson & Johnson/McNeil's Fort Washington, Pennsylvania plant? If so, please explain.
2. Has Blacksmith received any reports of adverse events related to the recalled Blacksmith products? If so, please provide a list of all such adverse events.
3. Please provide copies of all records relating to Blacksmith’s May 28, 2010 recall of pediatric medicine, including all communications between Blacksmith and Johnson & Johnson, McNeil, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Chairman Downs’ gave the company a 4pm, June 10th deadline to provide the proper information to the committee.
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