talc

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has agreed to a $5.5 billion settlement to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits in the United States. These lawsuits allege that J&J's discontinued talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer. The pharmaceutical giant announced this settlement on Monday, covering approximately 69,000 cases in US federal and state courts. Lawsuits against J&J concerning its talc products date back to 2009. While J&J has reached this significant settlement for US cases, a record UK case against the company is still proceeding. J&J's former consumer health business, Kenvue, which was spun off in 2022 and owns brands like Band-Aid and Listerine, holds liability for the talc-based baby powder outside of North America. This settlement is a major development in the long-standing legal battles over the safety of talc-based products.