An Australian law firm has filed a class action against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson in the Auckland High Court today accusing it of selling and marketing ineffective cold and flu medicines.
Lawyers at JGA Saddler allege the company manufactured and distributed several varieties of oral (tablet and syrup) cold and flu products that are ineffective at relieving the symptoms they were marketed to treat.
It says brands including several varieties of Codral Cold & Flu and Sudafed PR contain phenylephrine, which has been marketed and sold as a nasal decongestant.
An Australian law firm lodges Auckland High Court claim against Johnson & Johnson, accusing it of selling and marketing ineffective cold and flu medicines. (Source: 1News)
When ingested as a nasal spray, phenylephrine effectively treats nasal congestion by narrowing blood vessels in the nose, but JGA Saddler said a growing body of evidence has revealed less than 1% of phenylephrine is absorbed when it is taken orally.
The US Food and Drug Administration has proposed stopping the use of oral phenylephrine as an active ingredient in over the counter drugs for nasal congestion as it wasn’t effective, Reuters reported last year.
Phenylephrine was marketed as a substitute for pseudoephedrine, which is an effective nasal decongestant when taken orally, after the latter was banned for sale in New Zealand in 2011 over concern it was being used in the manufacture of illicit drugs.
Pseudoephedrine is now once again available.
JGA Saddler director Rebecca Jancauskas said customers should be able to confidently buy medicines that work as advertised and that the company should be held accountable when they do not.
“Johnson & Johnson has manufactured and marketed a medication that decades of evidence have shown doesn’t work as claimed, relying on outdated, fallible studies to sell the New Zealand public products that don’t do what they say on the packet.”
She alleged that Johnson & Johnson misled the public and said it needed to be held accountable for its actions.
“New Zealanders have trusted these products to work as advertised and wouldn’t have bought them if they knew they were ineffective at treating congestion,” Jancauskas said.
The case is backed by global litigation funder Omni Bridgeway and is being run on a “no win, no fee” basis, meaning there are no upfront costs for those involved in the claim.
Anyone who purchased one of the products between 2005 and 2025 can register their claim.
Similar proceedings are taking place in Australia.
1News has contacted Johnson & Johnson for comment.
The full list of products included in the class action
- Sudafed PE Nasal Decongestant Tablet
- Sudafed PE Sinus + Pain Relief Day & Night Tablet
- Sudafed PE Sinus + Pain Relief Tablet
- Sudafed PE Sinus + Allergy & Pain Relief
- Sudafed PE Sinus + Anti-inflammatory Pain Relief Tablet
- Codral Cold & Flu + Mucus Cough Capsule
- Codral Decongestant Tablet
- Codral Day & Night Tablet
- Codral Cold & Flu Tablet
- Codral Night Tablet
- Codral Mucus Cough + Cold Liquid
- Codral Cold & Flu + Mucus Cough Powder
- Codral Cold & Flu Powder
- Benadryl PE Chesty Cough & Nasal Congestion Syrup
- Codral Cold & Flu Sore Throat Tablet
- Day & Night Cold & Flu + Cough Combination Tablet
- Benadryl Mucus Relief Plus Decongestant Liquid
