Once one of the most trusted names in consumer medications, Johnson and Johnson surely has hit a low with parents who bought its children’s medications.

It already has lost its case in the court of public opinion.

The Wall Street Journal

“The Food and Drug Administration said it is weighing whether to seek criminal penalties against the Johnson & Johnson unit that made children’s Tylenol and other over-the-counter kids’ medicines recalled last month.

“Joshua Sharfstein, the FDA’s principal deputy commissioner, told lawmakers at a hearing Thursday that J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit had a “pattern of noncompliance” with good manufacturing practices. He said regulators were considering such punitive measures as “seizure, injunction or criminal penalties.” The FDA’s criminal investigations office is looking into the matter, an aide said.”

Source: Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2010