Product News and Recalls

Costco Says J&J Engaged in Price Fixing

costco sues johnson and johnson for price fixingCostco Wholesale Corp. has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, accusing the medical device and drug giant’s Vision Care, Inc., of engaging in price fixing with its contact lenses, The Wall Street Journal reports. The lawsuit was made public in Johnson & Johnson’s recent quarterly report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to the report, Costco filed the complaint in March of this year in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California. The company alleges “an unlawful vertical price fixing agreement between [Johnson & Johnson’s Vision Care, Inc.], Costco and unnamed other distributors and retailers.” Costco claims that the agreement harmed competition by increasing the price Costco customers had to pay for Vision Care contact lenses. Costco is seeking an injunction and monetary damages.

This is only the most recent of Johnson & Johnson’s legal problems. The NJ-based multinational drug and device company is defending several drug cases. Chief among them are Xarelto lawsuits, which allege that Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals, along with several other pharmaceutical companies, failed to conduct adequate research into their drug’s health effects and to sufficiently warn doctors and patients of Xarelto’s risks.

Xarelto was approved by the FDA in 2011 as an anticoagulant, or blood-thinning medication. It is intended to prevent blood clots from forming in patients undergoing certain surgeries or with irregular heartbeats. Unfortunately, according to plaintiffs in Xarelto lawsuits, Johnson & Johnson’s drug can cause those taking it to bleed to death. Xarelto lawsuits claim that the blood-thinning drug was not adequately tested before its release, and that certain side effects caused by Xarelto were concealed or downplayed to secure company profits.

At the beginning of 2015, two U.S. courts ruled to consolidate over 100 Xarelto lawsuits in a multidistrict litigation, despite fierce opposition from Bayer and Johnson & Johnson.

Talk to your doctor about any side effects your medications may cause, and always consult a health expert before switching your treatment program. If you or someone you know suffered a bleeding event after taking Xarelto, contact the Xarelto lawyers at Lopez McHugh for a free legal consultation. You may be entitled to damages through a Xarelto lawsuit.