Ethicon, Inc. Completes Divestiture of Professional Wound Care Business to One Equity Partners

SOMERVILLE, N.J., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- ETHICON, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, announced today that it has completed the divestiture of its Professional Wound Care business to One Equity Partners. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Under the terms of the transaction, One Equity Partners has acquired the Professional Wound Care product portfolio, which contains such advanced wound care brands as PROMOGRAN Matrix Wound Dressing, TIELLE Hydropolymer Dressing and REGRANEX (becaplermin) Gel 0.01%, a prescription treatment for lower extremity diabetic ulcers, as well as a portfolio of general wound care products. Also included in the transaction is the transfer of the R&D and manufacturing facility in Gargrave, England. The Professional Wound Care business generated annual net sales of approximately $270 million in 2007.

The professional wound care product portfolio will be marketed and distributed by Systagenix Wound Management, a new company created by One Equity Partners. Approximately 700 employees/contractors supporting the business will transfer to the new company.

About the Professional Wound Care Business

The Professional Wound Care business comprises both advanced wound care and general wound care products. The advanced wound care products are used to promote active wound healing, control infection and help maintain a moist wound-healing environment. The general wound care products are primarily inert dressings, such as gauzes and swabs used to clean, absorb and protect internal and external tissue.

About One Equity Partners

Established in 2001, One Equity Partners manages $8 billion of investments and commitments for J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in direct private equity transactions. Over recent years, One Equity Partners has invested approximately $3.5 billion to acquire over thirty companies in a variety of industries including defense, chemicals, healthcare, technology and manufacturing. One Equity Partners' investment professionals are located across North America, Europe and Asia, with offices in New York, Chicago, Menlo Park, Frankfurt and Hong Kong. Visit http://www.oneequity.com/ for more information.

About ETHICON, Inc.

ETHICON, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, is a global medical device company that develops and markets surgical products for use in general surgery, wound management and women's health & urology. For more information about ETHICON, please visit www.ethicon.com.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from Johnson & Johnson's expectations and projections. Risks and uncertainties include general industry conditions and competition; economic conditions, such as interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; technological advances and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approvals; domestic and foreign health care reforms and governmental laws and regulations; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Exhibit 99 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2007. Copies of this Form 10-K, as well as subsequent filings, are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.)

CONTACT: Ethicon Corporate Communications: Jackie Russo-Jankewicz,
+1-908-218-2764; Johnson & Johnson Investor Relations: Stan Panasewicz,
+1-732-524-2524, Louise Mehrotra, +1-732-524-6491, both for ETHICON, Inc.

Web site: http://www.ethicon.com/
http://www.jnj.com/