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A publication of the nation’s leading business school is raising questions about whether Johnson & Johnson has reversed its reputation for putting patient safety over profits.

A recent article in the online business journal for The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, “Knowledge @ Wharton” cites “stunning setbacks” at J&J, including a “seemingly endless stream of product recalls” to lawsuits brought by numerous states over off-label marketing of the anti-psychotic drug, Risperdal.

In the 1980s, J&J gained a reputation as a patient-centered company following a laudable voluntary recall of Tylenol, when cyanide-laced Tylenol was linked to seven deaths. The company’s crisis management resulted in tamper-proof packaging and a written credo to place patients over profits.

The article “Patients versus Profits at Johnson & Johnson: Has the Company Lost its Way?” suggests that company managers have lost sight of the credo and are putting profits over patients.

The journal cites leading academics, including Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, who say that the company’s “relentless focus” on profitability is the reason for the reversal, as well as the company’s current woes.

While its profits have gone up, J&J’s image in the public has gone down. YouGov’s BrandIndex service, has noted a decline in J&J’s public perception rating between 2009 and the present. On a scale ranging from -100 (most negative) to +100 (most positive) J&J’s image fell from 70.7 to 52.6 over the past three years, according to the “Knowledge @ Wharton” article.

The attorneys at Sheller, P.C. currently are litigating cases involving patients who have been injured by taking Risperdal. At this time, Sheller, P.C. attorneys are specifically investigating gynecomastia — a condition that causes boys and adolescents to grow breasts and has been linked with Risperdal®. If your son or a young boy or adolescent you know has experienced abnormal breast development or has been diagnosed with gynecomastia, contact us at toll free 800-883-2299, or in Pennsylvania at 215-790-7300, now to learn your rights and protect the health of your child.

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