Financial Services

Johnson & Johnson CEO: 'We unequivocally believe' our baby powder does not contain asbestos


Johnson & Johnson’s Chairman and CEO, Alex Gorsky, on Monday defended his company against reports claiming that it knew for decades about the presence of asbestos in its baby powder product.

“We unequivocally believe that our talc, our baby powder, does not contain asbestos,” Gorsky told CNBC in an interview with Jim Cramer. “And that’s demonstrated in thousands of studies, studies not only conducted by J&J, but studies conducted by independent authorities, well-respected authorities, where we work closely with regulators who are overlooking the methodology.”

“By the way, throughout this process, we also not only use the best testing methodologies that are available, but we continue to improve them through the years,” the CEO continued.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson plunged 10 percent on Friday in the stock’s worst trading day in 15 years. They lost another 2 percent Monday, totaling roughly $50 billion in market value losses for the pharmaceutical giant.

The Reuters report, which said that Johnson & Johnson executives and others were aware from the 1970s to the 2000s that the company’s talc materials sometimes tested positive for asbestos, was matched by the New York Times.

Gorsky, who has been the company’s CEO since 2012 and has worked there since 1988, reiterated his company’s categorical denial of the reports on “Mad Money.”

Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable trust owns shares of Johnson & Johnson.

Questions for Cramer?
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC

Want to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up!
Mad Money TwitterJim Cramer TwitterFacebookInstagramVine

Questions, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” website? madcap@cnbc.com





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.