In the late nineteenth century, during the American Civil War, a famous British doctor, Joseph Lister, discovered airborne bacteria in the operating room, and took the lead in creating the doctrine of "invisible bacteria". General Robert Wood Johnson, who served as a field medical officer at the time, was one of the first to recognize Lister's theory.
In 1886, Johnson and his two brothers in the United States in New Brunswick, New Jersey, *** with the start of a new business - the production of sterile surgical dressings, and formally founded the Johnson & Johnson Company. They employed 14 people and remained a leader in their industry.
As business expanded, Johnson & Johnson began to establish new international companies in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia in the 1920s to produce high-quality healthcare products and promote global health.
After more than one hundred years of unrelenting efforts and innovation, Johnson & Johnson has established more than 250 subsidiaries in 57 countries, with products sold in 175 countries and regions, and employs more than 115,000 people, making Johnson & Johnson one of the world's most comprehensive and broadly distributed manufacturers of health care products and related service providers, producing and selling products in the areas of consumer products, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. We manufacture and sell products in the consumer and personal care, pharmaceutical, and medical device and diagnostic markets.
In 2008, Johnson & Johnson generated global sales of $63.7 billion.
Johnson & Johnson leads the world in medical device innovation, marketing and growth.
Johnson & Johnson is the world leader in contact lens manufacturing.
Officially, Johnson & Johnson's global philanthropic endeavors began in 1906, when Johnson & Johnson provided medical supplies to victims of the San Francisco earthquake and fire.
Johnson & Johnson was honored as one of FORTUNE's 2006 Most Admired Companies and was ranked No. 1 in pharmaceuticals.
An article by Harveys Business Journal in the 2005 edition of Wall Street Journey named Johnson & Johnson the Most Reputable Partner Company for the seventh consecutive year.
Johnson & Johnson was ranked 32nd in the 2006 Fortune 500.
Johnson & Johnson was ranked 104th in the 2006 Fortune 500.
Johnson & Johnson was ranked 112th in the 2007 Fortune 500.
Johnson & Johnson was ranked 107th in the 2008 Fortune 500.
Johnson & Johnson was ranked 100th in the 2007 Fortune 500.
Johnson & Johnson was ranked 103rd on the 2009 Fortune 500 list.
Johnson & Johnson was ranked 26th on BusinessWeek's list of the "50 Best Companies for Action."
Johnson & Johnson is recognized as one of the best employers by Hispanic women, working women, people with disabilities, and people working in the pharmaceutical industry. Johnson & Johnson is recognized as one of the best employers in Spain by women, working women, people with disabilities, and pharmaceutical workers.
2010Fortune.com releases its latest ranking of Fortune 500 companies at No. 108 for 2010.
2011 Forbes.com ranked Johnson & Johnson No. 1 on its list of the top 100 most popular corporate brands among American consumers.
On September 30, 2014 the company announced that it would acquire Alios BioPharma Inc, a privately held company focused on the development of drugs for the treatment of viral diseases, for approximately $1.75 billion.