The company’s chief executive says that Johnson & Johnson disappointed consumers when it recalled millions of bottles of popular children’s medicines. William Weldon admitted that the company had let the public down, saying:
We let the public down. We did not maintain our high quality standards, and as a result, children do not have access to our important medicines. I accept full accountability for the problems at McNeil and I will take full accountability for fixing them.
Since the April 30th recall that saw 40 popular medicines such as Children’s Tylenol pulled from store shelves, J&J has “undertaken significant improvements as McNeil’s facilities,” Weldon said, adding that the company is spending $100 million to do so. J&J has said its Fort Washington, Penn. Plant, which made the 135 million bottles recalled in April, would not reopen until the second half of next year.
As far as the controversial so-called “phantom” recall last year of a faulty adult version of Motrin, Weldon said the company “should have handled things differently.” Regardless of how badly J&J has acted in the past, the company must do more than talk. It must recognize its safety responsibility and take all steps necessary to correct all problem areas.
Source: Reuters