"ohnson & Johnson subsidiary McNeil Consumer Healthcare ‒ which makes Infants' and Children's Tylenol and Children's Motrin ‒ agreed to pay $25 million to resolve the case, the Associated Press reported, citing court documents. The deal came at a plea hearing Tuesday afternoon.
"The proposed criminal resolution is sufficient to punish McNeil for its past failures and to deter McNeil from violating" federal law in the future, prosecutors wrote in a memo to the judge overseeing the case.
Metal particles ‒ including nickel, iron and chromium ‒ were introduced during the manufacturing process at McNeil's plant in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. The company began a voluntary recall in April 2010. The drugs may also have contained more of the active drug ingredient than specified, the company said in a statement at the time.
McNeil Consumer Healthcare makes over-the-counter drugs for kids (Screenshot from mcneil-consumer.com)McNeil Consumer Healthcare makes over-the-counter drugs for kids (Screenshot from mcneil-consumer.com)
“The particles may be solidified product ingredients or manufacturing residue such as tiny metal specks,” said Marc Boston, a McNeil spokesman, according to the New York Times.
Prosecutors accused the company of continuing to sell the tainted products for nearly a year after discovering the problem, also claiming that McNeil failed to take immediate steps to fix the cause of the adulteration.
The Johnson & Johnson subsidiary first learned of the particle problem in May 2009, when a consumer complained about black specks inside a bottle of Infants' Tylenol, according to court documents.
See entire article @ RT