JOHNSON & JOHNSON

1873–1885: Before Johnson & Johnson

Robert Wood Johnson began his professional training at age 16 as a pharmaceutical apprentice at an apothecary run by his mother's cousin, James G. Wood, in Poughkeepsie, New York. Johnson co-founded his own company with George J. Seabury in 1873. The New York-based Seabury & Johnson became known for its medicated plasters. Robert Wood Johnson represented the company at the Centennial Exposition in 1876. There he heard Joseph Lister 's explanation of a new procedure: antiseptic surgery. Johnson parted ways with his business partner Seabury in 1885.

1886: Founding of Johnson & Johnson

Robert Wood Johnson joined his brothers, James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson, and created a line of ready-to-use sterile surgical dressings in 1886. They founded Johnson & Johnson in 1886 with 14 employees, eight women and six men. Johnson & Johnson opened its first factory building in the old Janeway and Carpenter factory on Neilson Street in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

They manufactured sterile surgical supplies, household products, and medical guides. Those products initially featured a logo that resembled the signature of James Wood Johnson. Robert Wood Johnson served as the first president of the company.

1887–1942: Early history

The company sold medicated plasters such as Johnson & Johnson's Black Perfect Taffeta Court Plaster and also manufactured the world's first sterile surgical products, including sutures, absorbent cotton, and gauze. The company published "Modern Methods of Antiseptic Wound Treatment", a guide on how to do sterile surgery using its products, and in 1888, distributed 85,000 copies to doctors and pharmacists across the United States. The manual was translated into three languages and distributed worldwide. The first commercial first aid kit was designed in 1888 to support railroad construction workers, who were often hundreds of miles from medical care. The kits included antiseptic emergency supplies and directions for field use. In 1901, the company published the Handbook of First Aid, a guide on applying first aid.

In 1889, the company hired pharmacist Fred Kilmer as its first scientific director, who led its scientific research and wrote educational manuals. Kilmer's first achievement as scientific director was developing the industrial sterilization process. He was employed at the company until 1934.

Johnson & Johnson had more than 400 employees and 14 buildings by 1894. In 1894, the company began producing Johnson's Baby Powder, the company's first baby product.

The company introduced the world's first maternity kit in 1894 to aid at-home births, called Dr. Simpson's Maternity Packet, presumably after Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson. The kit included a washcloth; safety pins; sterile sutures, sponges, and gauze; antiseptic soap; an obstetric sheet and ligatures; flannel to wrap the baby in; and a chart for keeping birth records. The products were later marketed separately, including "Lister's Towels", the world's first mass-produced sanitary napkins. Kilmer wrote "Hygiene in Maternity", an instructional guide for mothers before and after delivery. In 1904, the company expanded its baby care products with "Lister's Sanitary Diapers", a diaper product for infants.

During the Spanish–American War, Johnson & Johnson developed and donated 300,000 packaged compressed surgical dressings for soldiers in the field and created a trauma stretcher for field medics. The company donated its products in disaster relief efforts of the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Johnson & Johnson vaccinated all of its employees against smallpox during the 1901 smallpox epidemic. The firm employed more than 1,200 people by 1910. Women accounted for half of the company's workforce and led a quarter of its departments.

Robert Wood Johnson died in 1910, and he was succeeded as president of the company by his brother James Wood Johnson.

During World War I, Johnson & Johnson factories ran round-the-clock shifts to supply sterile dressings, gauze, and surgical sutures to the Allied forces and European hospitals.

In 1916, the company acquired Chicopee Manufacturing Company in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, to meet demand. Near the end of World War I, the Spanish flu broke out. The company invented and distributed an epidemic mask that helped prevent the spread of the flu.

In 1919, Johnson & Johnson opened the Gilmour Plant near Montreal, its first factory outside the United States, which produced surgical products for international customers. In 1924 the company's first overseas manufacturing facility was opened in Slough, England.

In 1920, Earle Dickson combined two Johnson & Johnson products, adhesive tape and gauze, to create the first commercial adhesive bandage. Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages began sales the following year. In 1921, the company released Johnson's Baby Soap. Named after its Massachusetts facility, Johnson & Johnson built a textile mill and company town, Chicopee, outside Gainesville, Georgia. In the 1930s, the company expanded operations to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa. In 1931, Johnson & Johnson introduced the first prescription contraceptive gel marketed as Ortho-Gynol.

Robert Wood Johnson II became president of the company in 1932.

During the Great Depression, Johnson & Johnson kept all its workers employed and raised wages by 5%. In 1933, Robert Wood Johnson II wrote a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, calling for a federal law to increase wages and reduce hours for all American workers. The company also opened a new facility in Chicago during that period. Johnson wrote and distributed "Try Reality: A Discussion of Hours, Wages, and The Industrial Future" to persuade business leaders to follow his lead, advocating that business is more than profit and that companies have responsibilities to consumers, employees, and society. In "Try Reality", the section titled "An Industrial Philosophy" would later become the company's credo.

In 1935, Johnson's Baby Oil was added to its line of baby products. Both male and female Johnson & Johnson employees were drafted and enlisted during World War II. The company ensured no one would lose their job when they returned home.

Robert Wood Johnson II was appointed head of the Smaller War Plants Corporation in Washington, D.C. His work ensured U.S. factories with under 500 employees were awarded government contracts.

1943: Credo and IPO

In 1943, as the company was preparing for its initial public offering (IPO), Robert Wood Johnson wrote what the company called "Our Credo", a defining document that has been used to guide the company's decisions over the years.

The company became a public company via an initial public offering in 1944.

In 1943, Vesta Stoudt identified a need for waterproof tape for ammunition boxes in World War Two. She wrote to Franklin D. Roosevelt with the idea; the president commissioned Revolite, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson at the time, to develop and manufacture a cloth-based adhesive tape, later duct tape.

1944–1999: Acquisitions and international expansion

In 1944, the company began selling Johnson's Baby Lotion. The same year, the company established Ethicon Suture Laboratories. In 1947, G. F. Merson Ltd. was acquired to expand the company's suture business in the United Kingdom. The company was rebranded and absorbed into Ethicon.

Johnson & Johnson chairman of the board, Robert Wood Johnson, published Or Forfeit Freedom, in 1947. The book outlined that businesses need to develop sustainable methods of using natural resources for the future of business and the planet.

In 1955, Ethicon developed a micro-point reverse-cutting ophthalmic needle attached to the suture. Micro-point surgical needles and sutures allowed for advances in modern vision surgery.

In 1956, the company opened its first Asia-based operating company in the Philippines.

Johnson & Johnson opened its first operating company in India in 1957.

In 1959, Johnson & Johnson acquired McNeil Consumer Healthcare.

A year later, the company sold Tylenol for the first time without a prescription. In the same year, Cilag Chemie joined Johnson & Johnson as Cilag.

In 1961, Johnson & Johnson acquired Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which had been founded in 1953 by Belgian scientist Paul Janssen, the inventor of Fentanyl.

In 1963, Philip B. Hofmann succeeded Robert Wood Johnson as chairman and CEO. He was the first non-Johnson family member to become chief executive. Hofmann also helped found the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In the same year, the Food and Drug Administration approved a synthetic hormone contraceptive pill, Ortho-Novum.

In 1965, Johnson & Johnson acquired Codman & Shurtleff. The acquired company produced neurovascular devices and neurosurgery technologies. In 1968, the company developed the RhoGAM vaccine. The vaccine prevented Rh hemolytic disease in newborns.

In 1969, Ortho Diagnostics, a company subsidiary, launched the Sickledex Tube Test for detecting anemia. The same year, the FDA approved the Johnson & Johnson arterial graft. In 1971, the company launched Hapindex Diagnostic Test, a rapid hepatitis B test for blood donors. The test was developed to prevent the spread of hepatitis B through blood transfusions.

In the 1970s, Johnson & Johnson hired Henry N. Cobb from Pei Cobb Freed & Partners to design its new headquarters. The firm designed Johnson & Johnson Plaza across the railroad tracks from the older section of the Johnson & Johnson campus.

In 1973, Richard Sellars became chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson.

In 1976, James E. Burke became the company's chairman and CEO. During Burke's tenure, he managed the 1982 Tylenol tampering incident. It became a case study on crisis management. Under his leadership, the company recalled 31 million bottles of Tylenol, relaunched the product with a triple tamper-evident seal, and urged consumers not to use if tampered with. These practices became the pharmaceutical and packaged food industry norm.

Johnson & Johnson opened operating companies in China and Egypt in 1985. In 1987, Acuvue contact lenses became the first disposable contact lenses available to consumers. The lenses lasted up to one week, reducing the cost of contact lenses. In the same year, the company launched One Touch, a blood glucose monitoring system.

In 1989, Ralph S. Larsen was appointed chairman and CEO of the company.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Johnson & Johnson expanded into eastern Europe. By 1991, the company had a presence in Hungary, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Poland. In the 1990s, the company acquired Clean & Clear, Neutrogena, Motrin, and Aveeno.

In 1997, Johnson & Johnson acquired Biosense Webster, based in Haifa.

DePuy was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 1998 for $3.5 billion.

2000–2019

William C. Weldon was appointed chairman and CEO of the company in 2002.

In 2003, Ethicon launched Vicryl Plus Antibacterial Sutures. The products prevent post-surgery infection within stitches. In 2006, Johnson & Johnson acquired Pfizer's consumer healthcare business and merged it with its consumer healthcare business group. The acquisition added brands like Listerine, Bengay, and Neosporin to the company's portfolio. In the same year, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceuticals, launched Prezista, a protease inhibitor for patients with failed previous HIV therapies.

In October 2008, the company acquired HealthMedia, later renamed to Health & Wellness Solutions and the Human Performance Institute.

In December 2008, Johnson & Johnson acquired Mentor Corporation for $1 billion and merged its operations into Ethicon.

In October 2010, J&J acquired Crucell for $2.4 billion. The subsidiary operates as the centre for vaccines, within Johnson & Johnson pharmaceuticals business group.

In April 2012, Alex Gorsky became chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson.

In November 2015, Biosense Webster acquired Coherex Medical, expanding the company's range of treatment options for patients with atrial fibrillation.

In February 2017, Johnson & Johnson acquired Abbott Medical Optics from Abbott Laboratories for $4.325 billion, adding the new division into Johnson & Johnson Vision.

In June 2017, Johnson & Johnson acquired Actelion in a $30 billion deal, the largest ever purchase by the company. After the purchase, Johnson & Johnson spun off Actelion's research and development unit into a separate legal entity.

In August 2017, Johnson & Johnson Vision acquired TearScience.

In September 2017, the company acquired subscription-based contact lens startup Sightbox.

In September 2018, Johnson & Johnson Medical GmbH acquired Emerging Implant Technologies GmbH, manufacturer of 3D-printed titanium interbody implants for spinal fusion surgery.

In March 2019, the FDA approved esketamine for the treatment of severe depression, which is marketed as Spravato by Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

In 2019, Johnson & Johnson began production of photochromic contact lenses. The lenses adjust to sunlight and help eyes recover from bright light exposure faster. The lenses contain a photochromic additive that adapts visible light amounts filtered to the eyes and are the first to use such additives.

2020: COVID-19 pandemic

Johnson & Johnson committed over $1 billion toward the development of the not-for-profit Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Janssen Vaccines, in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), developed the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine based on the same technology used to make its Ebola vaccine.

Demand for Tylenol surged two to four times normal levels in March 2020. In response, the company increased production globally; the Tylenol plant in Puerto Rico operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In response to the shortage of ventilators, Ethicon, with Prisma Health, made and distributed the VESper Ventilator Expansion Splitter, which uses 3D printing technology, to allow one ventilator to support two patients.

In August 2020, the Federal government of the United States agreed to pay more than $1 billion to Johnson & Johnson for the production of 100 million doses of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. Johnson & Johnson and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) began clinical trials of J&J's vaccine in September 2020.

In September 2020, Johnson & Johnson started its 60,000-person phase 3 adenovirus -based vaccine trial. The trial was paused on October 12, 2020, because a volunteer became ill, but the company said it found no evidence that the vaccine had caused the illness and announced on October 23, 2020, that it would resume the trial.

2020-present

In November 2020, Johnson & Johnson acquired Momenta Pharmaceuticals for $6.5 billion.

In January 2022, Joaquin Duato became CEO of Johnson & Johnson.

In December 2022, Johnson & Johnson acquired cardiovascular medical technology company Abiomed for $16.6 billion.

Kenvue, the consumer products division of Johnson & Johnson that owned Neutrogena, Aveeno, Tylenol, Listerine, Johnson's, Band-Aid and other brands became a public company via an initial public offering in May 2023. At that time, Johnson & Johnson maintained a controlling stake of around 91%. In July 2023, Johnson & Johnson launched an exchange offer to split-off Kenvue, reducing its stake to 9.5%. In 2024, Johnson & Johnson sold its remaining 9.5% stake in Kenvue.

Johnson & Johnson holds a patent on the tuberculosis-treating drug bedaquiline, with secondary patents in at least 25 out of 43 countries with a high burden of tuberculosis blocking affordable generic versions of the drug, preventing millions of people from accessing the life-saving treatment. Though the patent was set to expire in many countries in 2023, Johnson & Johnson applied to extend the patent. In July 2023, Stop TB Partnership announced that after negotiations with Johnson & Johnson, it had been granted licenses to produce generic versions of the drug.

Johnson & Johnson acquired Ambrx Biopharma for $2 billion in January 2024, Shockwave Medical for $13.1 billion in April 2024, and Proteologix for $850 million in May 2024.

In June 2024, Johnson & Johnson MedTech released Polyphonic, a digital surgical platform. The platform features surgery planning, surgical video, and telepresence services for laparoscopic surgeries.

In April 2025, Johnson & Johnson acquired Intra-Cellular Therapies, a company specializing in medications for behavioral disorders, including schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder, for $14.6 billion.

In October 2025, Johnson & Johnson announced plans to spin off its orthopedics business as a standalone company, DePuy Synthes, targeting completion within 18 to 24 months. The business, which manufactures joint implants, surgical instruments, and other orthopaedic products, generated about $9.2 billion in sales in 2024.

In November 2025, the company acquired Halda Therapeutics for $3.05 billion.

In April 2026, the company acquired Atraverse Medical. That July, the company completed a $1 billion acquisition of Firefly Bio, a biotechnology company developing antibody-based protein-degrading treatments for cancer.

Chairmen history

Robert Wood Johnson I (1887–1910)

James Wood Johnson (1910–1932)

Robert Wood Johnson II (1932–1963)

Philip B. Hofmann (1963–1973)

Richard B. Sellars (1973–1976)

James E. Burke (1976–1989)

Ralph S. Larsen (1989–2002)

William C. Weldon (2002–2012)

Alex Gorsky (2012–2022)

Joaquin Duato (2023–present)