Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has proposed paying up to $5.5 billion to settle approximately 76,000 lawsuits in the United States alleging that its talc-based baby powder and other products caused ovarian cancer.
The New Jersey-based healthcare giant announced that the proposed agreement would resolve the vast majority of the remaining ovarian cancer claims linked to its talc products. Under the plan, J&J would pay up to $3 billion in 2027, with no further payments scheduled before 2028.
The settlement, however, is contingent on approval from legal representatives handling 95% of the ovarian cancer cases pending in state and federal courts. Without that threshold, the proposal cannot be finalized.
Company Maintains Innocence
Despite offering the multibillion-dollar settlement, J&J maintained that its products did not cause cancer. Erik Haas, the company’s vice president of litigation, described the allegations as “meritless,” saying the company remained confident it would ultimately prevail in court but chose settlement to end years of costly and uncertain litigation.
“We are confident that we would have ultimately prevailed with further litigation,” Haas said, adding that resolving the claims would allow the company to “put this matter behind it” and focus on developing medicines and medical devices.
The lawsuits date back to 2009, with thousands of consumers alleging that prolonged use of J&J’s talc-based baby powder exposed them to asbestos contamination, leading to ovarian cancer. Talc is a naturally occurring mineral often found in geological formations close to asbestos, a known carcinogen, prompting concerns that mined talc could become contaminated.
J&J has consistently disputed those allegations, insisting that scientific evidence shows its talc products are safe. In announcing the settlement proposal, the company reiterated that studies demonstrate its talc “does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer.”
Although the company has maintained its legal defense, it has gradually moved away from talc-based baby powder. Sales of the product in the United States ended in 2020, and in 2022 J&J announced it would discontinue the product worldwide, replacing it with a cornstarch-based formula as part of what it described as a global portfolio review.
