please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages a major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject . it may require cleanup to comply with wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view . please discuss further on the talk page . january 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message ethicon formerly called g.f.mersons limited ethicon suture laboratories type subsidiary industry surgical systems and instruments founded 1915 1915 in edinburgh scotland founder george f. merson headquarters somerville new jersey and cincinnati ohio 1 area served worldwide key people michael del prado chairman 2 products prolene monocryl vicryl ethilon gynecare revenue 4.87 billion sales 3 2011 number of employees 11 000 parent johnson & johnson website www.ethicon.com ethicon inc. is a subsidiary of johnson & johnson . it was incorporated as a separate company under the johnson & johnson umbrella in 1949 to expand and diversify the johnson & johnson product line . ethicon has manufactured surgical sutures and wound closure devices since 1887 . after world war ii ethicon s market share in surgical sutures rose from 15 % to 70 % worldwide . citation needed in the united states the market share is approximately 80 % . ethicon conducts business in 52 countries . contents 1 corporate history 1.1 gynecare prolift controversy 2 products and brands 3 further reading 4 references corporate history edit in 1915 george f. merson opened a facility in edinburgh for the manufacturing packaging and sterilising of catgut silk and nylon sutures . johnson & johnson acquired mr. merson s company in 1947 and this was renamed ethicon suture laboratories . 4 in 1953 this became ethicon inc. 5 in 1992 ethicon was restructured and ethicon endo surgery became a separate corporate entity . 6 during the 1990s ethicon diversified into new and advanced products and technologies and formed four different companies under the ethicon umbrella each of which specialize in different products . in november 2008 the wound management business was sold to one equity partners and became systagenix wound management limited . in 2009 ethicon acquired breast implant maker mentor and in 2010 it acquired ear nose and throat technology company acclarent . in 2016 ethicon acquired neuwave medical . in 2013 j & j merged ethicon endo surgery back into ethicon . 6 gynecare prolift controversy edit much controversy surrounds ethicon s transvaginal meshes used on patients with female genital prolapse . of these meshes the most important ethicon s gynecare prolift was introduced in march 2005 . ethicon s parent company johnson & johnson utilized the fda s 501 k clearance method which allows a product to be sold without official fda approval if it is based on another already approved product . however in 2008 the fda issued a public health notification regarding reports of serious complications associated with transvaginal mesh devices . this further escalated when in 2011 the agency received more than 1 000 adverse effect reports from surgical mesh manufacturers . the fda decided to order ethicon and other transvaginal mesh manufacturers to cease production until extensive testing and research on each of vaginal mesh device was conducted . in june 2012 following the fda s order for additional testing johnson & johnson permanently removed all prolift products from the market . 7 in one court case reported by reuters the plaintiff dianne bellew on whom the product had been implanted in 2009 said she was never warned about how the device could contract and erode causing pain and scarring . 8 products and brands edit pds nurolon mersilene dermabond silk ethibond prolene monocryl vicryl and ethilon gynecare women s health products . surgical stapling products . energy based products . endoscopic surgical products . further reading edit this article has an unclear citation style . the references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation footnoting or external linking . september 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message lance williams how suture maker kept lid on infection suits despite recall ethicon said product was harmless san francisco examiner february 22 1999 3 4 recall enforcement u.s. food and drug administration references edit locations around the world . www.ethicon.com . ethicon u.s. retrieved 25 january 2016 . perriello brad 22 may 2014 . j & j s pipeline includes 30 major medical devices and a surgical robot massdevice . massdevice . retrieved 25 january 2016 . management s discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial condition pdf . johnson & johnson . 2011 . p. 29 . retrieved 25 january 2016 . ethicon history . www.ethiconproducts.co.uk . retrieved 25 january 2016 . a history of advancing surgery . www.ethicon.com . ethicon u.s. llc . retrieved 25 january 2016 . a b arnold matthew 8 may 2013 . j & j consolidates rebrands ethicon units . medical marketing & media . 1 2 v t e johnson & johnson ceos and presidents current alex gorsky chairman and ceo robert wood johnson i james wood johnson robert wood johnson ii robert wood johnson iii philip b. hofmann richard b. sellars james e. burke ralph s. larsen selected subsidiaries alza corporation cilag crucell depuy inc. ethicon endo surgery inc. ethicon inc. independence technology llc j & j prd janssen biotech janssen pharmaceutica lifescan mcneil consumer & specialty pharmaceuticals mcneil nutritionals ortho mcneil pharmaceutical ortho neutrogena penaten tibotec major brands acuvue aveeno band aid benadryl benecol us license caladryl clean & clear desitin imodium johnson s baby lactaid listerine motrin mylanta mylicon neosporin neutrogena onetouch pepcid plax rembrandt splenda sudafed tylenol visine annual revenue us 74.3 billion fy 2014 annual net income us 16.3 billion fy 2014 employees 118 700 v t e pharmaceutical companies of the united states abbott laboratories acorda therapeutics actavis aderis pharmaceuticals adolor corporation alcon alexion pharmaceuticals alkermes allergan alza amgen amylin pharmaceuticals ariad pharmaceuticals aryx therapeutics avax technologies baxter international biocryst pharmaceuticals biogen biolex biovest biovista bradley pharmaceuticals bristol myers squibb cancervax century pharmaceuticals cephalon ceragenix pharmaceuticals combe incorporated cortex pharmaceuticals cotherix covance covidien cubist pharmaceuticals cutter laboratories cytosport cytrx danco laboratories dnaprint genomics epix pharmaceuticals eli lilly and company elorac endo pharmaceuticals ethicon endo surgery ethicon inc. forest laboratories galena biopharma genvec genentech genta gilead sciences hospira imclone systems institute for oneworld health intercept pharmaceuticals ista pharmaceuticals ivax corporation janssen biotech johnson & johnson kinetic concepts king pharmaceuticals kinray kv pharmaceutical leiner health products mallinckrodt martek biosciences corporation s. e. massengill company mckesson corporation mcneil laboratories melior discovery mentholatum merck & co. miles laboratories mylan myriad genetics naurex nereus pharmaceuticals northwest biotherapeutics norwich pharma services novabay pharmaceuticals nuvelo organon international ortho pharmaceutical ortho mcneil pharmaceutical osi pharmaceuticals ovation pharmaceuticals par pharmaceutical parke davis perrigo pfizer pharmaceutical product development prasco laboratories procter & gamble proteon therapeutics purdue pharma qualitest quark pharmaceuticals regeneron repros therapeutics rib x pharmaceuticals sarepta therapeutics savage laboratories schering plough g. d. searle & company sheffield pharmaceuticals smith kline & french spectrum pharmaceuticals sterling drug tanox tap pharmaceutical products tec laboratories teva pharmaceutical industries tiens biotech group titan pharmaceuticals trevena inc trubion upjohn upsher smith laboratories valeant pharmaceuticals ventria bioscience vertex pharmaceuticals verus pharmaceuticals vion pharmaceuticals inc. viropharma west pharmaceutical services wyeth zonite products corporation list of pharmaceutical companies retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title ethicon inc. & oldid 743865413 categories pharmaceutical companies based in new jerseycompanies based in somerset county new jerseyjohnson & johnsoncompanies established in 1949hidden categories wikipedia articles with possible conflicts of interest from january 2015articles needing additional references from january 2015all articles needing additional 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