Johnson & Johnson execs briefed on "phantom recall" of Motrin

E-mails show company knew about plan to have contractors buy defective painkillers instead of recalling them

Published June 11, 2010 9:24PM (EDT)

Documents obtained by The Associated Press indicate Johnson & Johnson executives were briefed on an outside contractor's plan to buy up defective painkillers instead of issuing a recall.

Emails sent to J&J last spring by contractor Inmar show the company was informed that the plan to purchase thousands of packets of Motrin could "draw scrutiny."

Lawmakers began scrutinizing the J&J after a slew of product recalls, most recently involving dozens of children's medicines.

The communication between J&J and the contractor appears to contradict testimony from a J&J executive, who told lawmakers last month that J&J was unaware of the plan to use contractors posing as customers to buy the defective products off retail shelves.


By Matthew Perrone

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