More Recalled Childrens OTC Drugs

J&J expands OTC drug recall.
The AP (7/9) reports that Johnson & Johnson's "McNeil Consumer Healthcare business said it is recalling 21 lots of over-the-counter drugs," including Benadryl, Children's Tylenol, Motrin IB, Tylenol Extra Strength, Tylenol Day & Night, and Tylenol PM "sold in the US, Puerto Rico, Fiji, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica." The recall is "because of a musty or moldy smell" that "was linked to a chemical in shipping pallets and traced to a facility in Puerto Rico."
The Wall Street Journal (7/9, Loftus) reports that there is no clear resolution in sight for the recalls. By next Thursday, McNeil said it will submit a comprehensive action plan on quality improvements to the FDA. The company also said the prospect for adverse medical events from the recalled drugs is remote.
Reuters (7/9, Pierson) adds that Thursday's recall is a follow-up to the company's January recall. There have been two other recalls in the past year.
J&J discloses physician payments. The Wall Street Journal (7/9, Loftus) reports in a separate story that for the first time, J&J publicly disclosed its payments to physicians, although the data is posted on websites of the various operating companies of J&J's pharmaceutical unit. However, J&J is not disclosing aggregate figures on how much it spent or how many physicians received payments. Under the new healthcare reform law, drugmakers beginning in 2013 will be required to report their payments to physicians to HHS, which will make the data available on a public website.