Johnson & Johnson Files Suit Alleging Drug Distributors Filled Its Bottles With Counterfeit HIV Meds

J&J Counterfeit HIV Medication Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Sciences Ireland filed a lawsuit against a group of drug distributors and a pharmacy. 
• Why: J&J and Janssen claim the drug distributors and a pharmacy were filling bottles of its HIV medications with counterfeit and potentially dangerous pills. 
• Where: The lawsuit was filed in New York federal court. 

Johnson & Johnson claims a group of drug distributors and a pharmacy filled bottles of its HIV prescriptions with counterfeit and potentially dangerous medication. 

J&J became wise to the alleged scheme after its subsidiary Janssen Sciences began receiving complaints from HIV patients claiming the wrong pills were in their Symtuza HIV medication bottles. 

Upon following up, J&J discovered the HIV medication bottles contained signs of being counterfeit, including having false instructions and fake labeling, according to the complaint. 

“The pills found inside the counterfeit bottles were different drugs that do not adequately control these patients’ viral loads and thus place them at serious risk of disease progression,” the company said. 

J&J says it was able to trace the counterfeit drugs to wholesalers I Care Pharmacy 14 Inc., Safe Chain Solutions, ProPharma Distribution LLC and Scripts Wholesale Inc. 

“Due to the rapidly mutating nature of HIV, missing all or part of a medication regimen can place patients at risk of developing drug resistance, which may persist even after the proper drug regimen is restored,” J&J said.

Samples Obtained By Janssen Only ‘Small Sample,’ Johnson & Johnson Says 

J&J claims that the samples obtained by Janssen were only a small sample of the counterfeiting occurring, citing documents from an unsealed similar case brought by Gilead Sciences. 

J&J cites the Gilead complaint in alleging that SafeChain, ProPharma and Scripts engaged in a wide scale counterfeit scheme of distributing millions of dollars worth of counterfeit HIV medication across the country. 

The Janssen-manufactured medications in question, meanwhile, are “groundbreaking treatments,” according to J&J, and include Prezista, Prezcobix, Symtuza, Edurant and Intelence. 

J&J claims the distributors and pharmacy are guilty of common law unjust enrichment and unfair competition and in violation of New York General Business Law and U.S. Code: Title 15. 

Plaintiffs are requesting injunctive relief along with punitive, statutory and actual damages. 

A federal judge declined earlier this month to dismiss claims that J&J and its subsidiary Ethicon Inc. misled consumers about the risks of using Ethicon’s pelvic mesh products. 

J&J has also been in the news lately over the safety of its baby powder. If you used Johnson’s Baby Powder, Shower to Shower or another talcum powder product and were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, you may have a legal claim. Family members of loved ones who died of ovarian cancer can also join (links to paid attorney content).

The plaintiffs are represented by Geoffrey Potter, Aron Fischer, Timothy Waters, A. Robert Quirk and Louis Russo of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP.

The J&J Counterfeit HIV Medication Lawsuit is Janssen Sciences Ireland Unlimited Company, et al. v. Safe Chain Solutions, LLC, Case No. 1:22-cv-01983, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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