HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

McNeil Consumer Healthcare is an American medicals products company belonging to
Kenvue Kenvue Inc. is an American consumer health company. Formerly the Consumer Healthcare division of Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue is the proprietor of well-known brands such as Aveeno, Band-Aid, Benadryl, Combantrin, Zyrtec, Johnson's, Listerin ...
consumer health group. It primarily sells
fast-moving consumer goods Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), also known as consumer packaged goods (CPG) or convenience goods, are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable household goods such as packaged foods, beve ...
such as
over-the-counter drugs Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid presc ...
.


History

The company was founded on March 16, 1879, by 23-year-old Robert McNeil, who paid $167 for a
drugstore A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of m ...
complete with fixtures, inventory and
soda fountain A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The machine combines flavored syrup or syrup concentrat ...
, as a retail
pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...
, in the
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
section of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, United States. Robert McNeil was a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science ( University of the Sciences in Philadelphia). In 1904, one of McNeil's sons, Robert Lincoln McNeil, became part of the company and together they created McNeil Laboratories in 1933. The company would focus on
direct marketing Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a Target market, pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response ...
of prescription drugs to hospitals, pharmacists, and doctors. Development of acetaminophen began under the leadership of Robert L. McNeil, Jr., who later served as the firm's chairman. In 1953 McNeil Laboratories introduced Algoson, a preparation containing acetaminophen together with sodium butabarbital, a
sedative A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or Psychomotor agitation, excitement. They are central nervous system (CNS) Depressant, depressants and interact with brain activity, causing its decelera ...
. In 1955, McNeil Laboratories introduced Tylenol Elixir for children, containing only acetaminophen. In 1959,
Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...
acquired McNeil Laboratories and a year later the company was able to sell Tylenol for the first time ever, without a prescription. In 1961, the company moved into its Fort Washington, Pennsylvania headquarters. Along with its Fort Washington plant, McNeil also has plants worldwide. In 1977, two companies were created: McNeil Medical Products and McNeil Consumer Products Company or McNeil Consumer Healthcare. The focus of McNeil Medical Products was to market prescription drugs. Another major development in 1977 was that entrepreneur Alan Kligerman started to market a lactase supplement he originally called LactAid. In early 1991, Kligerman licensed the Lactaid brand (note the change of capitalization) to McNeil. Johnson & Johnson "poured millions into slick packaging and advertising," and turned Lactaid into its fastest-growing brand during the 1990s. Available through
ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for l ...
.
In 1993, McNeil Medical Products merged with
Ortho Pharmaceutical Ortho Pharmaceutical was initially formed in the United States in 1931 as a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson to market the first medical prescription, prescription spermicide, spermicidal contraceptive jelly, ''Ortho-Gynol''. History In the 194 ...
to form
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical (now operating under Janssen Pharmaceuticals) was a pharmaceutical company based in Raritan, New Jersey, that was formed from the merger of Ortho Pharmaceutical and McNeil Pharmaceutical in 1993. These pharmaceutical co ...
. In 2001, McNeil Consumer Healthcare changed its name to McNeil Consumer & Specialty Medical Products. However, it was changed again and is now known as "McNeil Consumer Healthcare". In 2018, Johnson & Johnson changed the name of the McNeil facility in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania to Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. As part of Procter & Gamble's acquisition of Gillette in 2005, Procter & Gamble's Gillette was required by the
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
to divest itself of Rembrandt toothpaste. Consequently, it sold Rembrandt to
Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...
's McNeil-PPC division. That year, Rembrandt had sales that likely exceeded $100 million. The company markets
over-the-counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid pres ...
and prescription medical products including complete lines of Tylenol and Motrin IB (
ibuprofen Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is used to relieve pain, fever, and inflammation. This includes dysmenorrhea, painful menstrual periods, migraines, and rheumatoid arthritis. It can be taken oral administration, ...
) products for adults and children. The company is located in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and employs 2,600 people. Annual sales in 2004 were US $2.1 billion. McNeil's Canadian head office is in
Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in ...
. In September 2022, Johnson & Johnson unveiled the name for its New Consumer Health Company that is being spun off: Kenvue. The name, pronounced ken-view, comes from the English word "ken," which is primarily used on Scotland and means knowledge, and "vue," which references sight. Kenvue, which will become a standalone company in 2023, will include in its portfolio brands such as Band-Aid, Aveeno, Listerine, Tylenol and Neutrogena.


McNeil Nutritionals

McNeil Nutritionals, LLC markets and sells a range of products including Lactaid, and Benecol in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, and in the US under license from Raisio Group. In June 2007, McNeil became involved in lawsuits with Merisant, the makers of the artificial sweetener
Equal Equal(s) may refer to: Mathematics * Equality (mathematics). * Equals sign (=), a mathematical symbol used to indicate equality. Arts and entertainment * ''Equals'' (film), a 2015 American science fiction film * ''Equals'' (game), a board game ...
. McNeil was the maker of sucralose ( Splenda) sweetener at the time of the lawsuit with Merisant. It also produced a sweetener made with
stevia Stevia () is a sweet sugar substitute that is about 50 to 300 times sweetness, sweeter than sugar. It is extracted from the leaves of ''Stevia rebaudiana'', a plant native to areas of Paraguay and Brazil. The active compounds in stevia are ...
and cane
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
, marketed as Sun Crystals. In 2012, it started to sell a monk fruit-based sweetener called Nectresse.Christopher Adams (Aug 28, 2012)
US launch sweet news for kiwi supplier
''
The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...
''


Johnson & Johnson Merck Joint Venture

Known as the "JV," this 50/50
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
between
Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...
and Merck handled the OTC product lines Pepcid, Mylanta, and Mylicon and is located at the McNeil Consumer Healthcare headquarters in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. In September 2011, however, the JV ended, when Merck sold its 50 percent interest in the joint venture. Merck said it sold its interest in the joint venture so it could focus on building the consumer products division it gained through its acquisition of
Schering-Plough Schering-Plough Corporation was an American pharmaceutical company. It was originally the U.S. subsidiary of the German company Schering AG, which was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering. As a result of nationalization, it becam ...
in 2009. By terminating the joint venture, Merck said it will have greater freedom to exploit opportunities to switch prescription medicines to over-the-counter products that can be purchased without a doctor's prescription. As a result, all former Johnson & Johnson-Merck products are now handled by McNeil Consumer Healthcare.


1982 Chicago Tylenol murders

In 1982, seven people were murdered in Chicago by Tylenol pills, manufactured by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, which had been tampered with after manufacture and placed on the store shelves.


2010 product recall

After serious quality and safety violations were found in 2010 at Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Healthcare plant in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, numerous medicines were recalled. The Food and Drug Administration issued a report outlining 20 violations, including "filthy" conditions, bacteria that contaminated medicine supply drums and the plant "does not maintain adequate laboratory facilities for the testing and approval (or rejection) of components of drug products." In April 2010, McNeil Consumer Healthcare recalled 43 over-the-counter children's medicines. Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and
Benadryl Benadryl is a brand of various antihistamine medications used to stop allergy, allergies, whose content varies in different countries, but which includes some combination of diphenhydramine, acrivastine, or cetirizine. It is sold by Kenvue and ...
products were affected.


References


External links


About Tylenol/McNEIL
- Tylenol
McNeil Product Recall homepage

Complete list of affected products
from McNeil's website (April 2010)

retrieved June 2, 2010 {{J&J Pharmaceutical companies established in 1879 Companies based in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical companies of the United States Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries 1879 establishments in Pennsylvania Health care companies based in Pennsylvania 1959 mergers and acquisitions