Lawmakers Send Follow-Up Letter After Johnson & Johnson Responds to Inquiry by Pressley, Warren, Clark, Trahan

Letter Responding to J&J | Response Letter from J&J

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), along with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-05), and Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), sent a follow-up letter to Johnson & Johnson after receiving a response to their January 12, 2023 letter regarding the shortage of infant and children’s Tylenol and Motrin in Massachusetts and across the country.

In their initial letter to Johnson & Johnson, the lawmakers requested critical information to understand the scale and scope of the shortage and the manufacturer’s efforts to address it. In a letter responding to the lawmakers’ inquiry, Johnson & Johnson provided some insight into their increased production of the medicine and their communication with the Food and Drug Administration, but did not provide data related on the regional and city-by-city impact of the medicine shortages, nor did it provide a date by which normal availability of product in Massachusetts be restored.

“While your January 18th reply underscored your public statements about increased production, provided insight into the scale up of production based on forecasting models as early as April 2022, and clarified the timeline of communication with the FDA, key questions remain unanswered,” the lawmakers wrote in their follow-up letter to Johnson & Johnson.

“As Members of Congress, we are accountable to our constituents. As they navigate this shortage and still struggle to find product, it is essential that we are able to understand the scale and scope of this issue,” the lawmakers continued in their follow-up letter. “This is pertinent not only for addressing the moment at hand but also for effectively working with industry in partnership with the FDA to ensure this crisis does not repeat itself during the next cold and flu season.”

The lawmakers requested a response to their latest inquiry by no later than February 3, 2023.

A copy of the lawmakers’ latest letter to Johnson & Johnson is available here.

A copy of Johnson & Johnson’s response to their January 12^th inquiry is available here.

A copy of the lawmakers’ initial letter to Johnson & Johnson is available here.

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