The world’s most respected company, medical products giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), is having a bad day.
Federal prosecutors alleged in a civil complaint filed in federal court in Boston today that between 1999 and 2004 J&J paid kickbacks to Omnicare (OCR), one of the nation’s largest pharmacies serving nursing homes, to purchase J&J medications and recommend their use in nursing homes.
J&J is reviewing the complaint.
In an email to Barrons.com, a company spokeswoman wrote, “We believe airing the facts will confirm that our conduct, including rebating programs like those the government now challenges, was lawful and appropriate.�We look forward to the opportunity to present our evidence in court.”
If that wasn’t enough, J&J is taking flack from the FDA over its handling of a product recall. The Wall Street Journal reported today that the agency has issued a warning letter to J&J complaining that it should have acted sooner to recall some lots of Tylenol and other products amid consumer complaints about an unusual odor.
Early this morning, J&J announced that it was widening a recall of several over-the-counter drugs, including certain lots of Tylenol and Motrin, contaminated with a trace amount of a chemical sometimes applied to wood pallets used to store and transport some products.
It’s unclear the effect either the recall or the federal charges will have on J&J’s business. Investors, however, seem to have shrugged off both matters.
At $64.06 a share, J&J’s stock price fell a mere 1.6%.
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