Johnson and Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is an American healthcare company, headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops prescription medicines and medical technology. It was founded in 1886 by Robert Wood Johnson and his brothers to mass-produce sterile surgical supplies. In fiscal 2023 it reported worldwide sales of $85.2 billion, and in its 10-K for that year it said it had approximately 131,900 employees.

History of Johnson & Johnson

Robert Wood Johnson attended the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, where he heard the surgeon Joseph Lister argue for sterile surgery. According to the company’s own timeline, that talk inspired him to help found a firm that would be the first to mass-produce antiseptic surgical supplies. Johnson launched the company in 1886 with his brothers James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson.

The first factory opened in New Brunswick with 14 employees, eight women and six men. By 1894 the company had 400 employees and 14 buildings. It was incorporated in New Jersey in 1887, as the 10-K records. Early products included sterile absorbent cotton, antiseptic sutures and ready-to-use dressings. The company chose not to patent its sterile cotton process, so other makers could adopt it.

In 1888 the firm published a manual called Modern Methods of Antiseptic Wound Treatment. The timeline says about 85,000 copies were distributed within months and that 4.5 million copies circulated worldwide in later years. Frederick Kilmer joined as scientific director in 1889, and the company built a large steam sterilizer in the early 1890s. It introduced maternity kits in 1894, containing sterile dressings and instructions for home births. In 1898 its products were used for what the timeline calls the first antiseptic surgery at sea, aboard the U.S. Navy hospital ship USS Solace.

Growth later came through acquisitions. Johnson & Johnson acquired the Belgian drug firm Janssen Pharmaceutica in 1961 and the orthopaedics maker DePuy in 1998. Under chief executive Ralph Larsen, who took over in 1989, it added Neutrogena, Cordis and Centocor. It bought Abbott Medical Optics in 2017, Auris Health in 2019 and Momenta Pharmaceuticals in 2020. In 2022 Joaquin Duato became the company’s eighth chief executive and its first from outside the United States.

Products and services of Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson now describes itself as a focused healthcare company with two businesses, Innovative Medicine and MedTech. Its website lists oncology, immunology, neuroscience and cardiopulmonary as the main areas for medicines, and cardiovascular, orthopaedics, surgery and vision for medical devices.

The 10-K for fiscal 2023 gives the financial split. Innovative Medicine had sales of about $54.8 billion and MedTech about $30.4 billion that year. The Innovative Medicine segment covers conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, HIV, schizophrenia and cancer, and it sells to wholesalers, distributors, hospitals and healthcare professionals for prescription use. Key products named in the filing include Remicade (infliximab) and Simponi (golimumab), two biotechnology medicines used for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

MedTech includes electrophysiology products used to treat heart rhythm disorders, orthopaedic implants, surgical tools and vision products. Its Ethicon unit released the PROXIMATE disposable skin stapler in 1978, which the company says closed wounds ten times faster than traditional sutures.

Research is a large expense. The company reported research and development spending of about $15.1 billion in 2023. New medicines pass through a clinical trial process before regulators approve them, and devices face their own review.

Corporate structure and operations

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company. Its 10-K explains that operating companies conduct business in virtually all countries of the world, and the company’s primary focus is products related to human health and well-being. Its website said in late 2026 that about 140,000 employees work for it, while the 10-K for fiscal 2023 reported 131,900, so the figure varies with the date and the source.

The corporate structure changed in 2023 when the company separated its consumer health business. Kenvue Inc. held an initial public offering on May 8, 2023. On August 23, 2023, Johnson & Johnson announced the final results of an exchange offer in which it accepted 190,955,436 of its own shares in exchange for 1,533,830,450 Kenvue shares it owned. Because the offer was oversubscribed, shares were accepted on a pro rata basis.

After that separation, the company reports continuing operations as the two segments. Earlier results were recast to show only the continuing business, so figures before 2023 should be compared carefully with later filings. The headquarters stayed in New Brunswick, where in 1978 the company announced plans to build a new world headquarters.

Impact of Johnson & Johnson

The company changed surgery and wound care by selling sterile products at scale. Before it began, doctors who wanted to try antiseptic surgery often had to sterilize their own dressings, which was hard outside large hospitals. Its products and manuals helped spread sterile practice to ordinary hospitals and pharmacies, and the timeline credits its sutures with contributing to rising post-operative survival rates.

Its crisis response is also remembered. James E. Burke, who served as chief executive from 1976 to 1989, led the company during the 1982 Tylenol tampering incidents, and the company says his handling helped restore public trust. Later product milestones include ACUVUE disposable contact lenses in 1987, which the company says were the first disposable lenses that could be worn for up to a week.

The company also runs long-standing donation and partnership programs. Its timeline mentions partnerships with Mercy Ships beginning in 1978 and with Operation Smile beginning in 1988. These are described in company materials, so readers should treat them as the company’s own account.

Criticism and controversies

Johnson & Johnson faces extensive litigation, and the 10-K says so openly. The best-known matter involves personal injury claims that talc causes cancer, asserted against Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., its successor LTL Management LLC, now known as LLT Management LLC, and the company itself. The claims arise mainly from the use of body powders containing talc, primarily Johnson’s Baby Powder.

The filing states that in talc cases that have gone to trial, the company has obtained a number of defense verdicts, but there have also been verdicts against it, many of which were reversed on appeal. The company disputes the claims. Court proceedings change often, so readers who want the current status should read the latest 10-K and court records rather than rely on this summary.

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 4, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue