Thank God Johnson & Johnson is being held accountable!
Just like Ethisphere Magazine a couple of years ago, I ask "What's Ailing Johnson & Johnson?"
My opinion: A complete lack of ethics and the pursuit of profit legally or illegally. They are a major part of the health care crisis because of their disease mongering, creating a "disease" and then providing the drug or device which will "maintain", never cure the disease, all the while making literally billions of dollars in profit.
The J&J Credo clearly states their first responsibility is to their stockholders, not to the patients whom they profess to "cure".
Funny this Whistleblower case over their Procrit drug GOT NO PRESS! Unbelievable...J&J gets everything swept under the carpet...broken sterilizers in San Angelo, Texas that pumped out over 3.4 million unsterilized Vicry sutures in the early 90's, deaths from the Ortho Evra patch in the last couple of years, deaths and horrific complications from their trademark Prolene polypropylene mesh tape used for hernia repairs, bladder suspension for both men and women and pelvic organ prolapse.
My thoughts: Think Revelations 21:8..."But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
QUOTED FROM: http://thesettlementchannel.squarespace.com/
Procrit whistleblower case revived by First District appeals court decision
Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 07:37AM
In a stunning turn of events on what could be one of the largest Qui Tam cases in US history, the First Circuit Federal Appeals Court released it's opinion today reinstating a part of the whistleblower claim against Ortho Biotech, the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, regarding the alleged kick back scheme for it's drug Procrit
This case was spearheaded by Attorney Jan Schlichtmann on behalf of the relators Duxbury and MacClellan and when the trial court dismissed the claim, the appeal was filed and argued in mid 2008 and today's decision affirmed part of the decision but cleared the way for the Duxbury claim on kick backs and rebating tied to the off label marketing and use of Procrit in oncology clinics and hospitals.
We will be having Attorney Jan Schlichtmann on Speaking of Justice today to discuss the courts ruling, his thoughts on the elements that were affirmed as well as the next steps in this long dormant but now front page Whistle Blower case regarding Procrit and the marketing of it's off label use. As long time readers of this page will recall this was also featured in a Wall Street Journal profile on the case at about the time of the original trial in 2007 and while many had given the case up for dead, the Appeals Court has done a comprehensive analysis of what the bar is to filing a Whistle Blower claim and brought in a real stunner on what could be a massive potential claim against Ortho Biotech.
Of interest to structured settlement and claims professionals is the fact that this case is also potentially one of the largest non-qualifed structured settlement cases in US history due to the early and comprehensive use of a 468B trust to handle any and all claims attached to this Qui Tam case and subsequent litigation. This will be an intriguing case to follow so don't miss this broadcast!
Johnson & Johnson Procrit whistleblower case discussed on video
Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 07:44PM
In this video earlier today with Attorney Jan Schlichtmann, attorneys for the plaintiffs in the Ortho Biotech Qui Tam case, joins Speaking of Justice to discuss how this case will proceed given the stunning decision by the US Appeals Court to certify Mark Duxbury as a whistleblower.
As mentioned in my earlier post, this case if it is joined by the US Attorney and Attorney General has the potential to be a multi-billion dollar recovery according to AP reports in todays news.
The question becomes, will Attorney General's prior work as counsel for Johnson & Johnson in any way influence the decision by the US Attorney's office to join the case and attempt to recover billions of dollars of taxpayer money at a time when Health Care is utterly dominating the political news and debate.
Why in the world, given the ruling of the US Appeals Court, which appears to be totally consistent with the Rockwell ruling by the Supreme Court in 2007, wouldn't the US Attorney proceed to go get these funds? I guess we will find out shortly if this Justice Department is going to be a true departure from the Bush DOJ very shortly.
QUOTED FROM: www.drugrecalllawyerblog.com
Posted On: August 24, 2009 by John J. Cord
Johnson & Johnson Warned by FDA
Last week, the FDA sent a warning letter to Johnson & Johnson over trials of its antibiotic drug, ceftobiprole. J&J hopes that Ceftobiprole will be approved for treatment of skin infections, including MRSA (which is frequently a hospital-acquired infection).
The FDA reports that J&J has been violating its own study protocols, including:
Failure to ensure that patients properly store the drug
Failure to perform appropriate patient examinations
Failure to document some doses given to patients
Hiring unqualified investigators
Enrolling patients who do not meet J&J’s own eligibility criteria
These types of problems are systemic in the whole system. Many blame the FDA for allowing bad drugs to reach the market, but the primary failure is with the drug companies who fail to conduct adequate studies (or worse, hide the results of their otherwise-adequate studies). The FDA does not do independent studies of the drugs—that is not something taxpayers should have to pay for. Drugmakers have responsibility to perform studies of their own drugs to ensure they meet safety and efficacy requirements. Unfortunately, this is sometimes like the wolf guarding the hen house.
