Stock shock jock Jim Cramer has said Johnson & Johnson needs to break itself up. The company runs three different businesses under one banner: pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer health care products such as baby powder. Cramer says the product lines are too diverse and don’t overlap.
The Mad Money show host said: “I think these divisions could do better separately than as one combined company that is confusing to manage or even understand.”
Isn’t that what a corporation is all about, keeping the left hand from knowing what the right hand is doing? J&J certainly has both hands full defending dangerous drug and medical device lawsuits in its pharmaceutical and medical division lines. J&J arguably produces the greatest number of dangerous drugs and medical devices of any company in the world; it has lost some very large verdicts to support that claim. The company has even been sued over its famous (now infamous) baby powder. J&J now faces hundreds of talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits.
Dangerous Drugs from J&J
Risperdal
The drug J&J illegally marketed to minors through doctors, causes boys to develop female breasts. The company paid more than $2.2 billion for criminal and civil charges over its Risperdal marketing. More recently it lost a $2.5 million verdict in the first Risperdal trial this year in Philadelphia. More Risperdal lawsuits await.
Topamax
This drug causes birth defects when taken by pregnant women in the first trimester. J&J lost a $3 million verdict in one Topamax case and $11 million in another before it decided to settle several other birth defect cases.
Xarelto
Made to compete with the “new generation” blood thinner Pradaxa, Xarelto carries the same potentially lethal side effect of uncontrollable bleeding while offering no antidote. J&J at least shares liability in Xarelto lawsuits with Bayer, which made the drug J&J marketed.
Dangerous Medical Devices of J&J
DePuy Knee Replacement
At least two DePuy hip replacement systems made by J&J have been so painful as to necessitate the need to repair or replace a partial or an entire DePuy hip replacement system. J&J faces hundreds of DePuy hip implant cases.
Power Morcellator
Johnson & Johnson company Ethicon, Inc. stopped selling its power morcellators in 2014 after federal health officials issued morcellator warnings for cancer. The FDA no longer considers morcellators – which are used to remove fibroids or other noncancerous growths during a hysterectomy or a myomectomy – to be safe and effective. Morcellators can spread undetected cancer tissue.
Pelvic Mesh
J&J has been hit with more pelvic mesh lawsuits than any other of several mesh makers. It has lost several mesh trials so far, and is still the only mesh maker not to settle the rest of its considerable cases. Two more mesh trials against J&J’s Prosima mesh are set to begin in the next few months. The company is not in a good position considering the Prosima mesh was recalled.
If the monster-sized company won’t listen to Cramer, maybe it will listen to a few more jury verdicts to show it just how dysfunctional it is. Something is clearly not working right at Johnson & Johnson.
Related
- Pelvic Mesh Lawsuit
- Johnson & Johnson faces multiple lawsuits
- Cramer: Johnson & Johnson needs to break up now
by Matthews & Associates
