NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Days after the FDA’s proposed orders to raise the risk level of pelvic mesh implants, survivors injured by the devices issued a national call to join them in demanding that Johnson & Johnson’s Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky immediately stop producing the dangerous implants and help the women he has already hurt.
“We call on Johnson & Johnson’s Chairman Alex Gorsky to immediately stop producing these dangerous implants that have hurt tens of thousands of women,” stated Jane Akre, an organizer for the campaign Johnson & Johnson Hurts Women. “Gorsky should help the women he has hurt and stop continuing to hurt these women through the courts by denying responsibility, destroying documents, and prolonging their agony,” Akre added.
On April 29, 2014 the FDA proposed two orders to reclassify pelvic mesh implants as high-risk and to require manufacturers to conduct rigorous clinical trials for safety before they are sold. The FDA actions follow last month’s protest by pelvic mesh survivors at Johnson & Johnson’s annual shareholder meeting in New Jersey and came just weeks after the US Department of Justice stated it was reviewing a request for a criminal investigation of Johnson & Johnson for destroying thousands of documents related to women with pelvic mesh implants.
“As a survivor whose life has been destroyed by Johnson & Johnson, Chairman Alex Gorsky’s decision to continue to produce pelvic mesh implants is a slap in the face to women across the country,” stated Teresa Sawyer of Curtice, Ohio, who spoke at Johnson & Johnson’s annual shareholder meeting last month in New Brunswick, New Jersey. “We have been aware for years of the high risk of these products and demand that they stop the production of their mesh products immediately,” Sawyer added.
In addition, two days after the FDA proposal, another pelvic mesh manufacturer, Endo, announced it would be providing $833 million to compensate the women hurt by the company’s pelvic mesh implants.
The women survivors of pelvic mesh implants are asking the public to join their call for Johnson & Johnson to stop producing these dangerous implants and to immediately help the tens of thousands of women they have hurt by visiting http://JohnsonandJohnsonHurtsWomen.org.
Troubling History of Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky:
February 2008: Alex Gorky becomes President of the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary that makes pelvic mesh implants.
October 2008: FDA releases letter publicly stating that it has received more than 1000 adverse reports about pelvic mesh.
September 2011: An internal analysis conducted by Johnson & Johnson estimated that certain medical devices produced by a subsidiary that Gorsky oversaw would fail within five years in nearly 40 percent of patients who received it. (NYT, 1/22/2013)
October 2011: Video captures Alex Gorsky stating that “you don’t have to get it 100% right. When you get things 60% right, go.” Note that Johnson & Johnson knew at this point that 40% of their hip devices would fail within five years. (Footage of Gorsky at johnsonandjohnsonhurtswomen.org)
December 2012: Gorsky becomes both Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson.
December 2013: The number of lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson under Alex Gorsky reaches 28,810 by women hurt by pelvic mesh implants. (Johnson & Johnson SEC Filing)
February 2014: A judge rules that Johnson & Johnson—under Gorsky—improperly destroyed thousands of files about women affected by pelvic mesh implants. (Bloomberg, Feb 5, 2014)
March 2014: US Department of Justice states they are reviewing a request for a criminal investigation of Johnson & Johnson and top executives including Alex Gorsky. (AP, March 26, 2014)
March 26, 2014: The Corporate Action Network launches JohnsonandJohnsonHurtsWomen.org.
April 24, 2014: Women survivors, as well as Robert Fish of MacClenny, Florida, whose mother killed herself after enduring severe pain from pelvic mesh implants, travel to New Jersey to speak at Johnson & Johnson’s Annual Shareholder Meeting to demand that Gorsky help the tens of thousands of women he has hurt. Activists request a US Senate investigation of Johnson & Johnson by Senator Kay Hagan for hurting tens of thousands of women and destroying documents under Gorsky’s reign as President and CEO. (AP, April 24, 2014)
April 29, 2014: The Food and Drug Administration says that pelvic mesh should be reclassified as a “high risk” medical device, following years of reports of pain, bleeding and infection among women who have received the implants. (AP, April 29, 2014)