Johnson & Johnson And Amgen: The Drug Marketing Blues

Amgen (AMGN) got called in on the carpet for not make clear that a couple of its drugs had big time side effect. According to The Associated Press: "the FDA added warnings to the labels of Amgen’s anemia drugs Epogen and Aranesp." Why?" Recent studies have shown that using too much of the drugs increased the risk of death, blood clots, strokes and heart attacks in patients with chronic kidney failure " Amgen’s stock is near its 52-week low trading at $50.47, but Wall St. should ask why a company would wait for the FDA to call it in on the carpet. Wall St. hates it when the government gets involved in anyone business. And, the FDA can’t get much more involved that this.

That lesson seems not have been learned at Johnson & Johnson. The Feds paid them a visit, too. In this case according to the AP: "Johnson & Johnson said it has received subpoenas from federal prosecutors in Philadelphia, Boston and San Francisco related to the sales and marketing of three drugs. The drugs at issue are Risperdal, a treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar mania, the epilepsy treatment Topamax, and Natrecor, which is used to treat heart-failure patients, the New Brunswick, N.J., company said".

In the JNJ case the concern is that the drugs are being marketed to doctors for uses beyond those approved by the FDA.

But, wait a minute. In both cases the companies must have been on top of these issues. And, they let time pass. Now each is faced with the embarrassment of protracted examination of its business practices, and, perhaps, sanctions.

Not bright business practices.

Douglas A. McIntyre