Johnson & Johnson to pay $5.5 billion to settle "cancerous baby powder" lawsuits

The American health and pharmaceutical giant, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), has offered to pay up to $5.5 billion to settle the vast majority of tens of thousands of lawsuits pending against it in the USA. The lawsuits claim that the use of the company's talc-based baby powder and other products led to ovarian cancer.

This settlement offer aims to end a complex and prolonged legal battle that has weighed on the New Jersey-based company since 2009. According to the company's announcement, the proposed agreement is expected to cover between 69,000 and 76,000 claims, representing the majority of open cases in state and federal courts. For the agreement to become final, the consent of law firms representing at least 95% of the plaintiffs is required.

The proposed payment plan stipulates that the company will transfer the first installment of up to $3 billion during 2027, with the remainder to be paid from 2028 onwards.

The company denies: "The claims are baseless"

Despite its willingness to pay billions, Johnson & Johnson continues to strongly deny the medical claims and refuses to accept responsibility for health damages. The company's Vice President of Litigation, Erik Haas, stated that the accusations are "baseless" and that the company chose to settle only to put the issue behind it, save on enormous litigation costs, and avoid related uncertainty.

Haas added that the company is convinced it would have won in court had the trials continued, as has been the case in the vast majority of lawsuits that reached a verdict so far.

The current offer comes at a convenient time for the company, following a federal court ruling earlier this month that cast doubt on the plaintiffs' ability to prove a direct causal link between talc use and ovarian cancer. The court even demanded that the plaintiffs explain why the remaining lawsuits should not be dismissed after their experts withdrew from two key cases.

Moving from talc to cornstarch

The scientific debate surrounding talc—a natural mineral used to soften skin—stems from the fact that it is often mined near asbestos deposits, a known carcinogen. Plaintiffs have claimed for years that the baby powder was contaminated with asbestos. Conversely, J&J emphasizes that "decades of scientific research prove that cosmetic talc is safe, contains no asbestos, and does not cause cancer."

However, due to public and legal pressure, the company stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the USA several years ago and completed this transition globally in 2023. Today, the brand's baby powders are produced exclusively using cornstarch.

It should be noted that in 2022, Johnson & Johnson spun off its consumer products division into a separate company, Kenvue (owner of brands such as Band-Aid and Listerine), but J&J remains solely responsible for all liabilities and legal claims concerning past talc products.