Chair of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) consumer products division announces her retirement amidst recent drug recalls

Chair of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) consumer products division announces her retirement amidst recent drug recalls

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - Colleen Goggins, aged 56, announced on Thursday, 16 September that she will leave her position as Chairman of the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Group on 1 March 2011, following a thirty year career at the company.

Her retirement signals a new search for leadership in the Consumer Group, following several recalls in the last year, one of which resulted in J&J allegedly paying subcontractor WIS to repurchase 135 million bottles of some of their staple medicines including Tylenol, Infant Tylenol, Children’s Motrin, Children’s Benadryl, and others. Goggins, who oversees the division which produces and distributes these brands, testified this spring in front of a Congressional committee which is investigating J&J’s actions during the recall and its reasons for not instituting a formal, national announcement of the defective products.

An email correspondence from an executive at WIS dated 30 June 2009 shows him as saying, “We are exploring another similar but potentially larger recall for July involving Children’s Tylenol.” The same email correspondence which was addressed to an executive at J&J/McNeil subsidiary -- the sector of the Consumer Group which was responsible for the drugs’ production -- goes on to say that this new recall “would make our Motrin project look small.” A public announcement regarding the recall was released by the company 10 months later on 30 April 2010.

“The danger behind not announcing a formal recall is that it doesn’t alert consumers to the fact there is something wrong with the drugs that are on the market,” says Jeff Horowitz, a spokesperson for The Consumer Advocacy Group. “Instead of taking responsibility and admitting their mistakes, J&J tried to protect themselves through surreptitious measures with little care for the integrity of the drugs or its consumers’ trust in the company.”

No adverse health effects caused by the recalled drugs have been reported.

Regardless, as Chariman of the Consumer Group, Goggins received the majority of criticism. “Colleen did not know about the ‘soft market withdrawal’ until after the fact,” claims an executive at J&J who works closely with Goggins and requested not to be identified in this article. “However, with such a high level in the company comes high accountability.

“Every measure taken was done in accordance with the FDA’s suggestions. Due to the media attention, J&J is being investigated for an action which it was originally told to take.”

The congressional investigation into J&J’s actions is scheduled to continue with a hearing in Washington on 30 September. Along with Goggins, Bill Weldon, CEO of Johnson & Johnson Corporate, has been invited to testify as a witness. Representative Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will lead the hearing which has been called “to examine the circumstances surrounding Johnson & Johnson’s recall” and the "phantom recall" of particular Motrin products, according to the Congressional invitation.

Goggins has worked at Johnson & Johnson since 1981. In the company's announcement of her retirement, Weldon thanked her for her “dedication and extraordinary service” to the company. He also commended her for her initiative to “formulate and implement the remediation plan regarding the quality issues at McNeil.”

Ms. Goggins could not be reached for comment.