Lawmakers blasted Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Thursday for its massive recall of children's medicines. Regulators said a string of recent manufacturing lapses could lead to civil or criminal charges.
Last month, J&J recalled 40 widely used nonprescription products for children and infants, such as Tylenol and Motrin, after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors found filthy equipment and contaminated ingredients at a Pennsylvania factory.
FDA "has had growing concerns about the quality of the company's manufacturing process," Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein testified, citing poor inspection results and multiple consumer recalls.
"Although the public risk from these quality problems is low, these problems should never have occurred," Sharfstein said, calling the manufacturing failures "unacceptable."
Colleen Goggins, worldwide chairman of J&J's consumer group, said the company has not lived up to its reputation but has taken drastic steps to clean up its manufacturing process.
"I apologize to all the mothers, fathers, and caregivers for the concern and inconvenience caused by the recall," she said.
The company worked quickly to ensure recalled products were removed from stores and the public informed, she added.
Explaining the measures taken by J&J after the recall, Goggins said that the companies have been working to improve product quality and will "expend whatever resources are necessary to ensure" the Pennsylvania plant can resume production.
In the wake of this recall, shares of J&J closed down 0.2 percent at $59.03 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, underperforming the S&P Pharmaceuticals Sub-Industry Index which rose 1.3 percent on a day of broad stock gains.
