A Closer Look at J&J’s Ethicon – More Recalls

The good old Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word ethic as a set of moral principles – a theory or system of moral values; essentially a guiding philosophy. When you put the word Ethic in your company’s name, you’re making a bold statement about how you intend to do business. So, it should come as no surprise to observers of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) corporation, that ethic can’t seem to be found at Ethicon.

Last Thursday, the company recalled nearly 400,000 wound draining products in the United States. J&J’s quality control apparatus (whatever is left of it) didn’t detect quality problems, however the company received consumer complaints of sterile packaging which had been compromised. Products covered by the recall include Ethicon’s Blake silicone drains and drain kits, Blake cardio connectors, J-Vac reservoirs, and J-Vac drain adapters.

For those keeping score, this is the third major recall for J&J’s Ethicon division in the last three months – bringing J&J’s recall count up to a number so large we’ve lost count. In the last few weeks, J&J’s Ethicon recalled 700,000 of wound sealant and also recalled over a half million sutures that were believed to be non-sterile sutures (sold mostly in Europe). With a track record like this, the FDA should be looking at Ethicon for a consent decree.

Naturally, J&J is blaming the problem on a contract manufacturer. Sure, other pharmaceutical and healthcare companies keep a close eye on their contract manufacturers and don’t have these problems. But J&J is not like other companies…and that’s a bad thing for both consumers and the industry alike.