Puerto Rico factory under investigation

Friday, July 19, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Johnson & Johnson is facing a criminal investigation of the Puerto Rico factory where the company makes an anemia drug, the New York Times reported.

The investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and Food and Drug Administration is tied to a whistleblower's lawsuit filed by former employee Hector Arce, who was fired in 1999, the paper said, citing court documents and unidentified people.

"We're aware of the investigation and assume it's related to the lawsuit," said Johnson & Johnson spokesman Jeffrey Leebaw. "We are unaware of the precise nature of the FDA's investigation."

The factory makes Eprex, a drug used to boost levels of red blood cells in people undergoing kidney dialysis or suffering from anemia. Johnson & Johnson last month said Eprex had been tied to 124 cases of pure red-cell aplasia, a disorder in which patients are unable to make red blood cells.

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