December 11, 2003

Dear Health Care Professional:

Recently, ETHICON, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, notified the U.S. market of the discovery of counterfeit mesh product used in medical treatment procedures. Since ETHICON did not manufacture this counterfeit product, it cannot confirm the mechanical properties, biocompatibility or sterility of this material.

We are deeply concerned about the threat this poses to public health and we take this discovery of counterfeit product seriously. We are working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its investigation. Product protection programs are being investigated that include both overt and covert features for packaging. For further information about identifying the counterfeit product, please refer to www.ethicon.com.

It appears the counterfeit product entered the U.S. supply chain when some distributors purchased it from the secondary market. Also known as the gray or diverted market, the secondary market encompasses product purchased from any source other than the original manufacturer*. The secondary market provides an opportunity for counterfeit product and product not intended or meant for sale in the U.S. to enter the supply chain.

As product flows through the secondary market, it is uncertain how it is transferred, handled and stored -- this may compromise product integrity. Therefore, it is impossible for the manufacturer of the genuine product to assure patients and health care professionals of the quality of the product purchased in this fashion.

To reduce potential exposure to compromised product, we recommend that you contact your distributor and ask if they purchase any medical devices or diagnostics products made by members of Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies** from the secondary market. Further, you may wish to request written assurances from your distributors that the products you are purchasing as packaged are not from the secondary market, but from distributors approved by Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc. ("JJHCS") or another member of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.

As a condition of remaining a U.S. distributor for products manufactured by members of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, JJHCS is taking steps to require its distributors to immediately cease any participation in the secondary market.

You should be aware, however, that all distributors may not agree to this policy and such distributors will lose their ability to purchase products from JJHCS effective March 5, 2004. We will continuously update a list of distributors agreeing to this policy on the following Web sites: www.jnjgateway.com; www.ethicon.com; or www.ethiconendo.com. Health care facilities impacted by this action may confidently purchase products from any of the distributors listed on the above Web sites or directly from JJHCS.

We believe this action is necessary to maximize the integrity of the health care supply chain and your confidence in protecting the safety and health of patients.

Sincerely,
Melanie Barstad
President, Acute Care
Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc.

Please direct inquiries to: 800 898-9481.

* The secondary, or parallel market is made up of diverted and gray market goods:

Diverted goods: Goods redirected from the manufacturer's intended area of sale to a different place (with no approved or implied agreement, contract or understanding);

Gray market goods: A gray market good may be acquired abroad by "gray marketers," imported back into the manufacturing country, and sold to customers at a price lower than the cost of non-gray market good.

If distributors do not buy products direct from the manufacturer, there is no assurance that goods are not counterfeit. Both diverted and gray markets enable counterfeit product to enter streams of commerce masqueraded as genuine product.

** Codman & Shurtleff, Inc., Cordis Corporation, DePuy, Inc., ETHICON, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Wound Management, division of Ethicon Products, Ethicon Endo-Surgery Services, Inc., Advanced Sterilization Products, division of Ethicon Endo-Surgery Services, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., Johnson & Johnson Gateway, L.L.C., LifeScan, Inc., Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc., Therakos, Inc.

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