In the past two years, Weldon faced massive recalls of products, from artificial hips to children's Tylenol, that challenged his leadership and hurt J&J's reputation as a provider of high-quality products.

Below is a timeline of some of the major recalls:

Feb 17, 2012

Products: 574,000 bottles of the grape-flavored Tylenol

Problem: flaws in a new bottle design

Jan 27, 2012

Products: 2,000 tubes of Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Lotion

Problem: excessive levels of bacteria in a product sample

Dec 21, 2011

Products: 12 million bottles of Motrin pain relievers

Problem: caplets may dissolve too slowly, delaying pain relief

Sept 23, 2011

Products: Two batches of Eprex anemia drug in 17 countries

Problem: inconsistent potency

April 14, 2011

Products: 57,000 bottles of epilepsy drug, Topamax

Problem: foul odor

March 29, 2011

Products: 700,000 bottles of Tylenol and other consumer medicines

Problem: musty or moldy odor

March 8, 2011

Products: five lots of insulin pump cartridges

Problem: potential leaks

March 2, 2011:

Products: 107 batches of surgical sutures (recalled in December)

Problem: potential sterility problems

Feb 11, 2011:

Products: 70,000 syringes filled with the antipsychotic drug Invega

Problem: cracks in the syringes

Jan 14, 2011:

Products: 50 million bottles and packages of various kinds of Tylenol, Benadryl, Rolaids and other consumer products

Problem: lax cleaning procedures at manufacturing plant

Dec 9, 2010:

Products: All lots of Softchews Rolaids antacids

Problem: wood and metal bits in the tablets

Dec 2, 2010:

Products: 12 million bottles of Mylanta and almost 85,000 bottles of AlternaGel liquid antacid

Problem: small amounts of alcohol from flavoring agents was not noted on product packaging

Dec 1, 2010:

Products: 492,000 boxes of 1 Day Acuvue TruEye contact lenses

Problem: consumer complaints of stinging pain

Nov 24, 2010:

Products: 9 million bottles of Tylenol

Problem: inadequate warning of trace amounts of alcohol used in the product flavorings

October 18, 2010:

Products: 1 lot of adult Tylenol caplets

Problem: musty or moldy odor

July 8, 2010:

Products: Twenty-one lots of Tylenol for children and adults, several forms of Benadryl and Motrin sold in the United States, Fiji, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica in expansion of Jan 15 recall. The company has said this action affected 2.5 million bottles of medicines.

Problem: musty or moldy odor detected in earlier recall.

June 15, 2010:

Products: Four lots of Benadryl and Extra Strength Tylenol gels sold in the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda and Puerto Rico in expansion of January 15 recall. The company has said 500,000 bottles were affected.

Problem: musty or moldy odor detected in earlier recall.

April 30, 2010:

Products: Forty products including liquid infant and children's pain relievers, Tylenol, and Motrin and allergy medications Zyrtec and Benadryl. About 135 million bottles were affected, according to congressional investigators.

Problem: Manufacturing deficiencies that may have affected the quality, purity or potency of the medicines.

Jan 15, 2010:

Products: Fifty-three million bottles of over-the-counter products including Tylenol, Motrin and Rolaids, Benadryl and St. Joseph's Aspirin, involving lots in the Americas, the United Arab Emirates and Fiji.

Problem: Unusual moldy, musty or mildew-like odor linked to chemical in wood pallets used to store and ship products.

Dec 2009:

Product: Expands November recall of Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets

Problem: Consumer reports of unusual moldy odor with the 100-count bottles.

Nov 2009:

Product: Five lots of Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets

Problem: Reports of an unusual musty or mildew-like odor that was associated with nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

Sept 2009:

Products: Some lots of infants' and children's Tylenol

Problem: Possible bacterial contamination

July 2009:

Product: Motrin tablets sold mostly at convenience stores. The recall is the subject of a congressional probe into what some Democratic lawmakers say was a stealthy effort to buy back the drug rather than recall it. J&J has said FDA knew of their actions, while FDA has said as soon as it found out, it sought a recall.

Problem: Problems with dissolving

(Compiled by Anand Basu in Bangalore)