More recall problems for Johnson & Johnson--this time involving its Ethicon unit. One recall involves 700,000 vials of a liquid wound-sealing product, while the other is of a hernia-repair product.
These latest recalls affect both an established brand and a new product. The wound-healing product is Dermabond, a longstanding and well-known topical skin adhesive. It's being recalled following reports of discoloration and prolonged setting times. A root-cause analysis is in process.
The hernia treatment is Securestrap--absorbable straps that attach the mesh used in hernia-repair procedures. Ethicon was rolling out the product in late December when it began the recall because of sterility concerns, reports the Wall Street Journal. No recall notice was posted because the affected products were still largely under the company's control.
Last March, Ethicon retrieved Nurolon Nylon and Perma-Hand Silk suture products because some still in process "may have left the supply chain prior to sterilization."
The recalls mark the second and third for J&J in a week. It had started retrieving 70,000 potentially cracked syringes of the anti-psychotic drug Invega just days before.
In January, its McNeil unit called back millions of bottles of over-the-counter pain relievers. These followed multiple recalls of McNeil OTC products in 2010 and an October class-action lawsuit brought by investors alleging misleading statements prior to the company's admission of contamination problems at its manufacturing plants.
- here's the WSJ story
- check out the Dermabond recall notice
- see the Nurolon notice