February 2012

By Ingrid Clark Durfy, Vice President, Community Affairs and Advocacy, Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Biotech, Inc.

A few weeks ago, I represented Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP, at a National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) implementation meeting convened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

We are very excited to be taking an active role in contributing to the implementation of this first-ever National HIV/AIDS Strategy.   In fact, this meeting I attended was the third NHAS implementation meeting our company has attended and at each of these meetings, we’ve been joined by representatives of other corporations, foundations, HIV community groups and other stakeholders who came together to discuss how best to achieve the goals of the NHAS.

Released by the White House on July 13, 2010, the vision of the NHAS is clear:  The United States will become a place where new HIV infections are rare and when they do occur, every person regardless of age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or socio-economic circumstance, will have unfettered access to high quality, life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination.

To achieve this vision, the NHAS has target goals through 2015 in three areas:

•    Reduce HIV incidence
•    Increase access to care and improve health outcomes for people living with HIV
•    Reduce HIV-related health disparities

Participating in the ongoing dialogue is just one of the steps Janssen Therapeutics is taking to support the NHAS. 

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For the seventh time since we became publicly traded in 1944, Johnson & Johnson has announced the appointment of a new CEO to lead our company and employees in our mission to serve the health care needs of patients and customers.

In a news release issued this evening, Johnson & Johnson announced that its Board of Directors has named Alex Gorsky Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Johnson & Johnson, effective April 26, 2012, the date of the Company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders.  Alex was also nominated for election to the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting.   Our current Chairman and CEO Bill Weldon will remain Chairman of the Board of Directors and will work to transition leadership of the organization to Alex.

Alex offered this statement on today’s announcement:  “I’m honored that the Board has placed such confidence in me, and I am also aware of the serious responsibilities that come with this office.  Johnson & Johnson is a strong and extraordinary company with enormous opportunities to advance health and well being. I look forward to working with the best employees in the world to achieve future success the way we always have — through unwavering commitment to the principles of Our Credo.”

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From Jay Kosminsky, Vice President, Worldwide Communication and Public Affairs, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc.

This morning, after announcing a recall of an Infants’ TYLENOL® product, Denice Torres, who’s the President of McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, sent the following letter to Johnson & Johnson employees. I think it shows the passion of Denice and her team to bring McNeil back, and I’d like to share it with all of you. We’ve also reached out to consumers about the recall, including a video to help them understand the issue. I hope you’ll visit www.tylenol.com to learn more. Here’s Denice’s letter…

Dear Johnson & Johnson colleagues,

Today McNeil Consumer Healthcare announced a voluntary recall of the U.S., Infants’ TYLENOL® Oral Suspension, 1 oz. Grape. We’re recalling the product at the retail level after receiving a small number of complaints from consumers who reported difficulty using the product’s SimpleMeasure™ dosing system. SimpleMeasure™ includes a dosing syringe, which a parent or caregiver inserts into a protective cover, or “flow restrictor,” at the top of the bottle to measure the proper dose. In some cases, the flow restrictor was pushed into the bottle when inserting the dosing syringe.  No adverse events associated with this issue have been reported to date and the risk of a serious adverse medical event is remote.

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We occasionally use JNJBTW to respond to media reports that we feel are inaccurate or mischaracterize events involving members of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies.  Today, The New York Times published a story about the ASR® Hip System recall, and I wanted to share a letter from DePuy Orthopaedics President Andrew Ekdahl in response to the story. Ekdahl shared this letter with employees, and we post it here with his permission.

February 15, 2012

Dear DePuy Colleagues:

I’d like to address an article that appeared today in the New York Times about the ASR™ Hip System recall.  Specifically, this article focuses on the non-approvable letter DePuy received from the U.S. FDA in August 2009 for the ASR Hip Resurfacing System.  Citing a summary of the non-approvable letter from an undisclosed source, the article implies that the FDA letter concluded that there was a safety problem with the ASR Hip Resurfacing System, and DePuy knowingly continued to market an unsafe product in other regions.   That is simply untrue.

By way of background, the ASR XL total hip replacement system was cleared by the FDA for marketing in the U.S. in 2005 via the 510k process.  We also had filed a PMA in July 2007 for the hip resurfacing version of the device. 

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As you read this post over 110,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for an organ transplant, with another person added to the waiting list every 10 minutes.  And although this post focuses on the U.S., the need for donors is a global one.  Most of us don’t spend much time thinking about the people waiting for these needed donations, or the impact we can have, but on National Donor Day, I’d like to open up the conversation and share my own reasons for being a donor.

When I volunteered to write a post for National Donor Day I had to ask myself, why do I donate?  Even though I’m a registered organ and bone marrow donor, and a frequent blood donor, I realized it was a question I hadn’t given much thought to.  I wrestled with it, and consistently came back to the fact that I felt good about it.  I thought surely there’s a much deeper answer here, but in the end, for me, being a donor is truly a reward in itself.  While I know this sounds clichéd, the value I get from being a donor has always outweighed the cost, and I consider myself an avid bargain hunter.

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Recently, Johnson & Johnson Vice Chairman Sheri McCoy shared her thoughts about the power of innovation to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes as part of the Institute of Medicine’s Learning Health System Commentary Series of the IOM Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care.  Her perspective highlights an important theme for Johnson & Johnson — delivering meaningful innovations in healthcare.

Sheri’s post is focused on collaborative innovation – new ways in which different stakeholders in the healthcare system can work together to lower costs and improve patient care.  “One way innovators have sought to address the paradox of innovating to improve care and manage costs is through integration of care; another is the application of evidence-based practices and metrics,” she wrote.  To illustrate areas where these concepts are working well, she shares examples of industry-payer collaborations that have led to a comprehensive care program for schizophrenia patients in Germany and better patient outcomes for joint replacement patients in the United States.  Key to successes like these, she stresses, is “leadership from both the private and public sectors, committed health care providers, and the right incentives,” all critical factors in realizing well-coordinated, patient-centered, continuously learning, higher-value care.

You can read the full post here: http://www.iom.edu/Global/Perspectives/2012/InnovatingToImprove.aspx

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In the past, I’ve written here to highlight things of interest for our individual, or retail, shareholders.  I’ve explained how changes to the rules of the New York Stock Exchange would affect shareholder voting, described some of the tools we offer on the Investor Relations section of jnj.com that make it easier for retail shareholders to stay informed about our company, and posted voting results immediately after our 2011 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

Today, I’m excited to tell you about the newest resource we’re offering to keep our retail shareholders engaged.  We are the first corporation to team up with Moxy Vote, an innovative, online voting platform, which will provide another way for you to vote your shares at our shareholders meetings.

Moxy Vote is designed for retail shareholders who want one convenient place to vote all of their shares online and educate themselves on the items they will be voting on.  Moxy Vote also offers an opportunity for companies, like ours, to have direct dialogue on their website with our many different stakeholders, who are so vital to our long term success.  It’s an opportunity that aligns with our goals for shareholder communications and so we’ve decided to support Moxy Vote’s initiative in the shareholder communication and voting space. 

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From Bryan Baugh, M.D., Medical Director, Janssen Therapeutics

It happens every year around this time. My memory floods with images and thoughts from my time before I joined this company: I’m brought back to my work as a physician treating HIV/AIDS patients in the African-American community of Southeast Washington, D.C.

My recollection is actually part of something much bigger this week,  as people around the country recognize the 12th National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) on Tuesday, Feb. 7. This day of awareness is especially poignant when you consider the true burden of this virus behind the staggering statistics. Here’s just a few of the most compelling facts from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

•    While blacks represent approximately 14 percent of the U.S. population, they account for almost half of people living with HIV in the U.S. as well as nearly half of new infections each year.
•    Approximately one in 16 black men will be diagnosed with HIV during his lifetime, as will one in 32 black women.
•    Among blacks, men account for 70 percent of new HIV infections. Women account for 30 percent.
•    Within the African-American community, gay and bisexual men are the most affected, followed by heterosexual women.

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On Monday, January 30, Johnson & Johnson joined 12 other pharmaceutical companies, the World Health Organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. and U.K. governments, The World Bank, and endemic countries to announce a new, unprecedented collaborative effort to control or eliminate 10 Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by the year 2020.

Here’s a video post from our Pharmaceuticals Worldwide Chairman Paul Stoffels, who gives our perspective about the Johnson & Johnson commitment to this effort, and talks about why this collaboration could serve as a new model for collaboration to address global health issues.  The post was taped on the day of the announcement last week.

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The Wall Street Journal published a story yesterday on executive changes at the Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies, and the Company has responded with the following letter to the editor from Ray Jordan, Vice President of Public Affairs and Corporate Communication for Johnson & Johnson:

January 31, 2012

Dear Editor of The Wall Street Journal,

In reporting on recent departures at the Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies (“J&J Shakes Up McNeil Unit Again”), your article got only some of the facts right, and the overall story wrong. Patrick Mutchler, to whom the President of our McNeil Consumer Healthcare business reported, chose to retire from Johnson & Johnson after 35 years of exemplary service to the company.  You inaccurately connected the departure of another senior executive, Pericles Stamatiades, to Mr. Mutchler’s retirement even though he had no direct responsibility for the McNeil business.

Through their contributions to our business, the leaders they have developed, and the many friends they made at Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Mutchler and Mr. Stamatiades have left an extraordinary legacy, and we will miss them. Perhaps most important, however, is the fact that McNeil Consumer Healthcare today remains under the same strong leadership of President Denice Torres, who stepped into her role last April. 

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