Johnson & Johnson Recalls Faulty Simponi Syringes

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has recalled at least 395 injection devices containing the rheumatoid-arthritis drug Simponi in the U.S. and Germany, Dow Jones reported Friday. The devices reportedly contain a defect that could result in an insufficient dosage of the drug.

The manufacturing issue was uncovered during routine testing in Switzerland. Health officials in Europe allege that the error could result in a Simponi injector device shortage for the time being and patients should use pre-filled syringes as an alternative.

Johnson & Johnson was able to quarantine the majority of the Simponi batches, but a few got past the wholesale level. The recall affects approximately 395 pens.

“I don’t think you can ever say you’ve seen the last of recalls,” chief executive officer William C. Weldon told BusinessWeek on Thursday. “What we feel really good about is that we’re coming into 2011 in much better shape than we came out of 2010.”

A representative from the European Medicines Agency said Friday that other pens currently on the market have not been affected and can continue to be used, Dow Jones reported.