U.S. House Widens Inquiry of J&J’s ‘Phantom Recall’ Contractors

[Celebration]

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-04/u-s-house-widens-inquiry-of-j-j-s-phantom-recall-contractors.html

U.S. lawmakers demanded records from two contractors they say were hired by Johnson & Johnson to buy back defective Motrin tablets from stores in a “phantom recall” that is part of an expanding investigation into drug manufacturing at J&J.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee sent letters requesting information related to the 2008 Motrin incident to the chief executive officers of WIS International, a closely held San Diego-based merchandise consultant, and Inmar Inc., which is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

“Rather than doing the right thing and announcing a recall, we have learned that the drug company hired contractors to basically sneak into stores to purchase the products as if they were legitimate customers,” Representative Edolphus Towns, a New York Democrat and the committee chairman, said yesterday in a statement. Towns termed the Motrin incident a “phantom recall,” at a May 27 hearing that revealed unnamed contractors hired by J&J removed the over-the-counter pain medicine from stores at gasoline service stations.

The committee began investigating quality-control deficiencies at J&J after the world’s largest maker of health- care products recalled more than 40 children’s medicines on April 30.

[supernova]

1. What? As I understand this

Instead of announcing a recall for poor manufacturing processes of different children's OTC meds, J&J hired contractors to go into stores and buy up all their stocks?

Am I reading that right?

[Celebration]

2. yup n/t