NEW YORK - The International Olympic Committee can't put a Band-Aid on this financial cut: Johnson & Johnson won't be renewing its lucrative global sponsorship deal.
  
With the IOC still shopping to fill the last sponsorship spots for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the health care conglomerate's decision to pull out of high-level international sponsorship strikes them off what may be a rapidly shrinking list of willing partners.

Johnson & Johnson met its goals during the Beijing Games and has decided to move on, a company spokeswoman said in a statement.

"We set out to reinforce the already positive perceptions of Johnson & Johnson in China and help our business units in that country and other markets reach new consumers and professionals," Lorie Gawreluk said in an email statement to The Canadian Press.

"Thanks to our association with these Games and the International Olympic Committee we've been successful in reaching those goals."

Gawreluk said the decision to end the association with the Games means Johnson & Johnson won't have a top-level connection to the Vancouver Olympics, but it doesn't rule out a connection between the company and the Games altogether.

"Such a consideration would be up to our operating units, which manage their businesses locally and make such decisions individually," she said in the email.

Johnson & Johnson's deal for 2005-08 was worth between $60 million and $80 million.

Had they renewed, Sports Business Journal reported the IOC would have gotten $100 million in its renewal over four years.

That would have helped the committee achieve its goal of $1 billion for The Olympic Partnership program, or TOP, running from 2009-12.

Now the IOC needs to find another top-level sponsor in Johnson & Johnson's category as official health-care products provider.

Another option would be to turn the category over to local Olympic committees or bundle its products into other existing sponsorship categories.

The Vancouver Olympic organizing committee has been watching warily as some of its domestic sponsors have been grappling with financial troubles, among them auto manufacturer General Motors and building supplier Millennium.

But the vice-president of marketing for the committee said they are confident the IOC will come through with the top level support.

"(The organizing committee) has been aware that Johnson and Johnson might discontinue their top level sponsorship with the IOC," said a statement from Dave Cobb.

"However, the IOC has told us that they are still confident they will complete 11 agreements with top level sponsors for the 2010 Games."

There are currently nine TOP partners for the 2010 Olympics -- Acer, Coca Cola, VISA, Panasonic, Atos Origin, General Electric, McDonald's, Omega and Samsung.

Twelve companies signed up for the 2005-08 global sponsorship program generating nearly $900 million in revenues.

With files from The Associated Press