DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
A Johnson & Johnson unit said Thursday that it doesn't
expect to have suppliers before the end of this year for most of
the products made at its plant in Fort Washington, Pa., where
production has been suspended.
Operations of McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a division of
McNeil-PPC Inc., were suspended at that plant in connection with
recent recalls of popular over-the-counter medicines like Benadryl
and Tylenolrecent for infants and children because of
quality-control issues. The suspension also affected production of
adult over-the-counter products there.
The recalls aren't expected to be financially devastating to the
health-care giant, but they have marred J&J's image.
The company previously said it is assessing all its
manufacturing operations and has identified changes to be made
before manufacturing resumes at the Fort Washington plant. No date
is set for production to resume there.
Average annual sales of the products made at that plant during
the past three years were about $650 million.
J&J's shares were at $59.65, up 5 cents, in after-hours
trading. The stock, which recently traded under $58 for the first
time in a year, has performed worse than other major drug makers
during the past month as concerns linger over the recalls.
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357;
Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com