Public mistrust of big pharma is an ongoing issue afflicting our industry, and the latest news on the delayed recall of McNeil medicines has done little to challenge these perceptions. The problem was less that batches of medicines were tainted, but more that the communication of this and associated recall was deemed so late. According to a federal inspection report, the recall came 20 months after McNeil first began receiving consumer complaints about the mouldy smell of Tylenol arthritis caplets. Several side effects, mostly nausea and stomach pains, were reported by people taking the tainted Tylenol following these initial complaints. The damage to consumers may not have been directly life-threatening, but analysts are predicting the impact on consumer confidence in the company could be significant.
Actions are now in place for people to report side effects online or call a dedicated help-line, and the news has even been published on the Johnson & Johnson corporate blog (McNeil’s parent company). It is also impressive to see that the company have been brave enough to publish critical comments on the blog. A follow-up post also highlighted that McNeil conducted a microbiological investigation for the presence of bacteria and mould, but found no evidence leading to the conclusion that it was just an isolated issue. A further investigation was undertaken in 2009 when chemical traces were found – but crucially, the evidence was not widely communicated.
Despite moves to make amends now, the lesson is really that whenever there is a hint of an issue, it has to be addressed speedily. Making use of numerous communications avenues, including a corporate blog and Twitter feed, will be invaluable in the future. While the online corporate response has been impressive, an even more immediate response could have made a bigger impact, since the post was not published until three days after media reporting on the issue. The issue here is industry wide, however. Internal approval systems, designed to protect pharma companies from risks associated with sensitive communications, can actually lead to issues they are established to avoid. If it takes too long to agree on communications around an issue, the issue may already have reared its ugly head by the time you come to manage it. This example demonstrates that the priority for any issue must be a quick response. Increased transparency and clarity of information provided to consumers and patients can actually improve a company’s reputation rather than the reverse.
Tags: Johnson & Johnson, McNeil, pharma online, recall, Tylenol