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Why govt must make Johnson & Johnson bleed for selling faulty implants in India

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Shweta Punj
Shweta PunjAug 28, 2018 | 17:02

Why govt must make Johnson & Johnson bleed for selling faulty implants in India

I grew up using Johnson and Johnson (J&J) products. As a child who grew up in the India of the 1980s, there weren't many options anyway and amid the cacophony of advertisements of domestic brands — Babool, Binaca and other such — J&J stood out for its pure white packaging, soft imaging, soothing music, adorable babies — and what seemed to seal the deal was the very urbane voice-over announcing it is 'a family company'.

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J&J brought home the smells and textures of what the world was using — and we loved it. (Source: TV grab of a J&J advertisement)

At a time when Indians loved to shop in Kathmandu, J&J brought with it what every Indian aspired for — a foreign feel to everyday life. Considering very few Indians were travelling abroad those days and shopping lists for those who were included soaps, shampoos, chocolates, cigarettes, among other things, J&J brought home the smells and textures of what the world was using — and we loved it.

My love for J&J began to fade as India opened up and I had many more options to choose from.

But I never doubted the safety of its products until I became a parent myself and heard about the reportedly high presence of mineral oil in a lot of its goods. Oh, well. So we never really got around to using J&J products on my son — that lovely white soap bar which smelled so clean wasn't so after all. I am just glad he is born at a time when India seems to be getting over its love for everything 'phoren' and returning to the basics.

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Last week, J&J made headlines for its faulty hip implants which were sold in India. A government committee reported that in an urgent Field Safety Notice issued by the firm on August 24, 2010, the company has admitted about the product failure on the patients and that the product causes metal wear debris and elevated release of cobalt and chromium. 

The committee also notes that all the revision surgeries were performed within seven years on an average from the date of primary surgery while the life of orthopaedic hip implants is 15 years — according to a report published in The Indian Express

The company is also in the dock, paying out a hefty compensation of $2.5 billion that it agreed to pay 8,000 US citizens who sued it post-faulty implants. The committee also notes that the company has withheld crucial information on the exact number of patients who have undergone surgeries and re-surgeries.

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Unlike the US, we have rarely seen class action suits in India. (Source: Reuters)

Indian authorities have said that the company will have to compensate patients — so far, four patients have died and 3,600 people with hip surgeries are untraceable. While the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has asked the drug regulator to set up committees to receive complaints from patients affected by faulty devices, the compensation amount being considered is Rs 20 lakh which is a pittance considering the reported breach of trust and the apparent loss of lives and quality of life involved.

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We have rarely seen class action suits in India — primarily because of huge stamp duties involved and the rigours of civil courts. In fact, after the Satyam scam, while investors in the US won damages, those in India couldn't really move forward. In 2013, a provision specifically to class action suits was added in the Company Law. This section is a first of its kind under Company Law. Perhaps now would be a good time to put it in motion, to set precedence for several other companies where consumers could have been cheated — except, in this case, some have even lost their lives.

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Letting J&J just go with a paltry compensation would have dire consequences. (Source: Reuters)

Secondly, the regulatory mechanism needs to be tightened considerably, for the Indian authorities to claim that J&J did not disclose information is just a lazy excuse for not doing its job. In today's hyper-connected world, how difficult would it be to find out something this big and significant such as the withdrawal of a product in another part of the world whose licence the company is seeking?

The unfortunate truth is that the lives and well-being of Indians has never been a priority for any government.

It is about time our elected representatives got above electioneering and politics and did what they are elected for. To make the lives of Indians safer and better. If I can't trust what device will be put into my body at a premium hospital by my trusted doctor, besides, of course, knowing that the food I eat or the water I drink or the air I breathe are all of pathetic quality, as a nation, we have failed miserably.

And letting J&J just go with a paltry compensation would have dire consequences. Holding all stakeholders accountable would be the first step. Hold public hearings for companies that play with the lives or hard-earned savings of people.

It is about time that India held its private sector accountable.

Last updated: August 28, 2018 | 17:14
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