Category Archives: Johnson & Johnson

South Africa launches ‘unprecedented’ investigation of Johnson & Johnson over TB drug prices

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Competition watchdog probes claims of profiteering by US drugmaker in country where tuberculosis is biggest killer

South Africa’s Competition Commission will investigate the American drugmaker Johnson & Johnson for the high price it has been charging for the tuberculosis medicine bedaquiline, as well as for extending its 20-year patent until 2027 to block cheaper generics from entering the country.

The commission’s investigation was made public last week by the health department and the Health Justice Initiative (HJI) legal organisation at a media briefing of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The commission investigates matters when it has reasonable suspicion of exploitative or unethical behaviour.

This story was produced by the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. Readers can sign up here for the centre’s newsletter

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Johnson & Johnson must pay $18.8m to cancer patient in baby powder lawsuit

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Jury rules in favor of California man who says he developed a deadly cancer from heavy exposure to talc powder since childhood

Johnson & Johnson must pay $18.8m to a California man who said he developed cancer from exposure to its baby powder, a jury decided on Tuesday, a setback for the company as it seeks to settle thousands of similar cases over its talc-based products in US bankruptcy court.

The jury ruled in favor of Emory Hernandez Valadez, who filed suit last year in California state court in Oakland against J&J, seeking monetary damages. Hernandez, 24, has said he developed mesothelioma, a deadly cancer, in the tissue around his heart as a result of heavy exposure to the company’s talc since childhood. The six-week trial was the first over talc that New Jersey-based J&J has faced in almost two years.

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House approves tax overhaul; Fight shifts to Senate where passage is less assured

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A California jury on Thursday ruled in favor of Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by a woman who said she developed the cancer mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos in the company's talc-based... A popular local vacation destination for more than 50 years, 3 Ponds Campground in Brentwood is being sold to a developer planning a 55 and over ... (more)

Congress might take away 401(k) for wrong reason

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More than 62 million Americans - about a third of the nation's adult population - have put money into 401 retirement plans. Now Republicans in Congress are seriously debating changing the program, dramatically reducing the amount of money Americans can contribute tax-free to their 401 account from $18,000 a year now to just $2,400 a year.

Top Drug Manufacturer To Florida: Don’t Use Our Drugs For Executions

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A subsidiary company of Johnson & Johnson , the world's largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, came out in protest Monday against Florida using its drugs to perform lethal injection executions. Florida resorted to using J&J's etomidate anesthetic after the state ran out of the more traditional sedative midazolam earlier this year.

LA Times ousts editor-publisher and other top managers

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The Los Angeles Times' parent company is bringing in a new publisher, editor and other top newsroom managers in a shake-up it says is part of a plan to move one of the nation's flagship newspapers more quickly into... The Los Angeles Times' parent company is bringing in a new publisher, editor and other top newsroom managers in a shake-up it says is part of a plan to move one of the nation's flagship newspapers more quickly into the digital age. Officials have suspended the search for five Army soldiers who were in a helicopter crash during offshore training in Hawaii last week.

Trump on raising millions from rich donors: I’m only doing it because the RNC asked me to

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The best line comes after the AP notes that Trump's fans are forever praising him for not letting sleazy fatcats buy influence with him via campaign contributions. Now that the sleaze tap has been turned on for the general election , the report continues, "It's not clear how they will react."