Johnson & Johnson: A Pioneer in the Fight Against Counterfeits and Tampering

Continuing our series of articles on the strategic perspectives of leading brands in their fight against fakes and adulterated products, this month we turn our attention to Johnson & Johnson (J&J), one of the world's largest healthcare companies.

J&J's vast portfolio spans pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer health products, from everyday items like baby powder and BAND-AID® to life-saving cancer treatments and vaccines. With such a wide range of products and a global market presence, J&J has, inevitably, become a target for counterfeiting and other criminal acts.

Early innovator: the TYLENOL® crisis

J&J has long been at the forefront of strategies to prevent counterfeiting and tampering, starting with its response to the TYLENOL crisis of 1982, when seven people died in Chicago after unknowingly ingesting Extra Strength TYLENOL capsules laced with cyanide.

The tainted capsules had been manufactured at two different US locations – Pennsylvania and Texas – suggesting they had been tampered with at the point of sale. At that time, it was easy – all the culprit had to do was take a bottle off the shelf, unscrew the cap, place potassium cyanide in some of the capsules, screw the cap back on, and replace the bottle on the shelf – with nothing on the bottle to indicate it had been opened.