Regular Ethisphere readers are aware of a number of issues that have affected Johnson & Johnson in the past, namely the (still ongoing) problems with their Ortho Evra birth control patch. Along those lines, Bloomberg published an interesting story claiming that Johnson & Johnson has paid – at a minimum – $68.7 million in private settlements over ortho evra related claims.

The most common problems associated with Ortho Evra, Bloomberg notes, are:

According to the story:

J&J’s annual report cited “a significant decline” in Ortho Evra sales because of “labeling changes and negative media coverage concerning product safety.”

Worth noting, J&J has never actually gone to trial over Ortho Evra:

“Their exposure was pretty high, so they were willing to talk turkey about settling,” [one of the plaintiff's attorneys Russell] Rein said. “They have been settling out quite a few cases where the damages are significant and the causation is clear.”

Some groups, such as Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, question why the patch is still on the market and have petitioned the FDA to ban it within six months.

J&J disagrees, as Gloria Vanderham, a spokeswoman for J&J, says, “When used according to the FDA-approved label, Ortho Evra is a safe and effective method of hormonal birth control.”