Keeping it a Family Company

Purpose/ Mission Statement

“At Johnson & Johnson, we believe good health is the foundation of vibrant lives, thriving communities and forward progress. That’s why for more than 130 years, we have aimed to keep people well at every age and every stage of life. Today, as the world’s largest and most broadly based healthcare company, we are committed to using our reach and size for good. We strive to improve access and affordability, create healthier communities, and put a healthy mind, body and environment within reach of everyone, everywhere.

Every day, our more than 130,000 employees across the world are blending heart, science and ingenuity to profoundly change the trajectory of health for humanity.”

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Intro

• Johnson visited the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and he was surrounded around the largest gathering of doctors in American history. This experience changed Johnsons future and the vision of his company after listening to Dr. Joseph Lister's’ speech on antiseptic surgeries.

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• Johnson & Johnson was founded in 1886 in New Brunswick, New Jersey by the owner Robert Johnson and his two younger brothers Edward and James.

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• Their company would become the largest manufacturer of mass produced sterile surgical supplies.

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• Today they develop medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer health products. With the company ranking number 36 on the S&P 500 they are still a very successful corporation with a long history to back their credibility. However, over the past several decades Johnson and Johnson’s credibility has slowly been declining.

Current Situation

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• J&J is one of the largest american companies that has countless brands used by the majority of americans and so there seems to be trust between the customers and the company.
• However, this is beginning to change and now when people hear the name J&J they associate the company to an ineffective vaccine that causes health problems.
• According to “Tracking the Impact of the J&J pause across social media” On April 13th, 2021, the CDC and the FDA announced that they needed to pause the distribution of J&J vaccine. The decision to halt the the rollout was because of reports from six women between 18-48 developing blood clots after receiving the vaccine and one was reported dead.

Current Situation

• What Johnson and Johnson were not prepared for was what would happen when this vaccine doesn’t work properly.
• According to “Tracking the Impact of the J&J pause across social media” By April 23, significant damage had been done to the public's perception of the J&J vaccine. ABC Washington Post created a poll and fewer than a quarter of unvaccinated Americans said they would be willing to get the J&J vaccine following the pause.
• A company that has been around for 136 years and has been trusted by customers throughout most of their history has now lost credibility in a matter of months.
• This has made Johnson and Johnson have to shift their future goals and marketing plans abruptly. Instead of marketing new products to their customers they now have to re-establish themselves as a credible company.

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Primary Research/Results

Our Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDOz9U017PQsZ9Q_HqTO_t79SZZBUfxAipFdFqZlC003uafQ/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

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Known Effects of the Jansen COVID-19 Vaccine

According to the CDC, In most situations, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are preferred over Johnson & Johnson's Janssen (J&J/Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine. J&J/Janssen should only be considered in some cases.

But Why?

• There is a plausible causal relationship between J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine and a rare and serious adverse event—blood clots with low platelets (thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS). It occurs at a rate of about 3.83 cases per million Janssen doses and has resulted in deaths.
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• Based on a recent analysis of data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink, the rate of GBS within the first 21 days following J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccination was found to be 21 times higher than after Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna (mRNA COVID-19 vaccines).

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.htm

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Timeline of Scandal other than Vaccine

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• 1982 - McNeil

Product Recalled - Tylenol (acetaminophen) capsules�Reason for Recall - Medicine laced with potassium cyanide (poison) resulting in several patient deaths

• 2009 to 2011 - McNeil

Product Recalled - Several OTC medicines including Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, St. Joseph aspirin, Sudafed, Pepcid, Mylanta, Rolaids, Zyrtec, Zyrtec Eye Drops (tens of millions of bottles)�Reason for Recall - Unpleasant smells causing nausea; tiny metal shards in liquid medicines; wrong ingredient levels

• 2010 - DePuy [Pinnacle Systems]

Product Recalled - ASR Hip Resurfacing System and ASR XL Acetabular System (metal-on-metal hip implants)�Reason for Recall - Metal poisoning (metallosis); loosening of the implant or joint dislocation; additional surgeries

• 2012 - Ethicon

Product Recalled - Gynecare Prolift Kit, Gynecare Prolift+M Kit, Gynecare TVT Secure and Gynecare Prosima Pelvic Floor Repair System Kit (transvaginal mesh implants)�Reason for Recall - Perforation of organs; vaginal bleeding and scarring; mesh erosion; severe pain

• 2013 - McNeil

Product Recalled - Motrin (ibuprofen) for infants (200,000 liquid bottles)�Reason for Recall - May contain tiny particles of plastic

• 2013 - Janssen

Product Recalled - Risperdal Consta (injectable antipsychotic drug) (one lot)�Reason for Recall - Routine testing showed evidence of mold

• 2014 - Ethicon

Product Recalled - Power Morcellators�Reason for Recall - Spread of uterine cancer; rapid progression of the disease; death

• 2016 - Ethicon

Product Recalled - Physiomesh flexible composite hernia mesh�Reason for Recall - Studies showed higher revision rates after implant

• 2017 - SterilMed

Product Recalled - Agilis Steerable Introducer Sheath (hemostatic heart valve)-�Reason for Recall - Device failure due to an improper seal of the sheath hub, which can allow blood leakage, device detachment during the procedure or development of an air embolism

• 2019 – Johnson & Johnson

Product Recalled – 33,000 bottles of Johnson’s Baby Powder�Reason for Recall – The FDA found a small amount of asbestos — a known carcinogen — in a sample

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SOURCE: Johnson & Johnson – Products, Recalls, Lawsuits & Scandals (drugwatch.com)

Talc/Asbestos in Baby Powder Products

With evidence from as early as 1971, crushed talc has been found in Johnson & Johnson baby powder.

Talc is a mineral that is harmless in its pure form, but is often found contaminated with asbestos- a substance known to create an aggressive cancer called mesothelioma.

According to asbestos.com, “Johnson & Johnson announced in October 2021 its talc subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company had previously set aside nearly $4 billion to cover lawsuits claiming its iconic Johnson’s Baby Powder causes cancer, including ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.”

Famous Lawsuits

• In October of 2017, Evidence in a class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson showed the company had known its talcum powder products contained asbestos since the early 1970s.

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• In October of 2020, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay more than $100 million to settle more than a thousand talc lawsuits. It was the first time the company had settled talc lawsuits in bulk, having previously settled only individual cases.

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Our Solutions to Restore Johnson & Johnson’s Credibility

If you google “What is talc?” or even “Talc dangers,” the very first link you will see is www.factsabouttalc.com.

This website was produced by Johnson & Johnson as a way to counteract the claims about the company knowingly using hazardous talcum material in their products.

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Our Solutions to Restore Johnson & Johnson’s credibility

Attention to quality over quantity

• With a company as large as Johnson & Johnson it is hard to determine which products are actually adding value to customers lives from the ones that aren’t.
• Johnson & Johnson owns over 100 brands with thousands of different products and with this amount of variety it is difficult to manage.
• What Johnson & Johnson needs to do in order restore credibility is go back to what their company was founded on. This is medical products and the majority of their companies identity now is on consumer products.
• Limiting the amount of brands and products that do not provide some sort of medical benefit to customers will help the company create quality products.

Our Solutions to Restore Johnson & Johnson’s credibility

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• In 2021 J&J consumer health sales only increased by 3.8% (Tylenol, Aveeno, Neutrogena)
• In the same year the percentage of their pharmaceutical sales increased by (13.6%) and this was three times more than their consumer health products (3.8%)
• Lastly their medical device sales increased by (16.8%) in 2021
• J&J should reduce the amount of resources that are being used to produce consumer health products and instead focus on the pharmaceutical and medical devices.

Conclusion

• The company was founded in 1886 in New Brunswick, New Jersey by Robert Johnson and his two younger brothers Edward and James.
• Since 1971 Talc has been traced in Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and in 2017 they admitted to knowing this. Talc can be contaminated with asbestos which can cause mesothelioma (cancer). The company set aside $4 billion in 2021 to cover lawsuits claiming their baby powder causes cancer.
• Most of Johnson & Johnson’s lawsuits are from recent decades and since 2009 they have had a lawsuit just about each year until now.
• J&J has lost credibility because of their poor distribution of resources to important products that people need. This represents their lack of care for customers and quality of their products. People will not rely on J&J if they continue to disregard their own mistakes.

Works Cited

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“Johnson & Johnson: Company History and Talcum Powder Lawsuits.” Mesothelioma Center - Vital Services for Cancer Patients & Families, Mesothelioma Center - Vital Services for Cancer Patients & Families, https://www.asbestos.com/companies/johnson-johnson/#:~:text=It%20was%20J%26J%E2%80%99s%20first%20loss%20involving%20an%20asbestos,the%20public%20that%20its%20products%20were%20never%20contaminated.

“Johnson & Johnson – Products, Recalls, Lawsuits & Scandals.” Drugwatch.com, https://www.drugwatch.com/manufacturers/johnson-and-johnson/.

“Selected Adverse Events Reported after COVID-19 Vaccination.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html.

“The Talc Lawsuits - What Are They about?” Facts about Talc, 20 Apr. 2022, https://www.factsabouttalc.com/litigation?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BI-USA-ENG-PS-Corporate%2BEquity-GP-EX-RN-NB_TALC&utm_content=Lawsuit%2B-%2BE&utm_term=talc%2Bwarning&gclid=9378f08e345b1c0629a8922d5301c464&gclsrc=3p.ds&ds_rl=1262818&msclkid=9378f08e345b1c0629a8922d5301c464.

Wirtschafter, V. (2021, April 29). Tracking the impact of the J&J pause across social media. Brookings. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/tracking-the-impact-of-the-jj-pause-across-social-media/

Johnson & Johnson. Content Lab U.S. (n.d.). Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-reports-q4-and-full-year-2021-results

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