Johnson & Johnson offers up to $5.5bn to settle baby powder lawsuits

What the report says

BBC World News reported that Johnson & Johnson has proposed paying up to $5.5bn (£4.14bn) to settle tens of thousands of US lawsuits alleging that its talc-based baby powder and other talc products caused ovarian cancer. The offer is aimed at ending a long-running legal fight that has followed the New Jersey-based healthcare company for years. J&J continues to deny that its talc products caused cancer.

According to the BBC, J&J said it would make up to $3bn available next year, with no further payments due before 2028. The proposal can only be completed if law firms representing 95% of ovarian cancer claims in state and federal courts agree to it. Erik Haas, J&J’s vice president of litigation, said the company views the claims as meritless but is prepared to settle to resolve the dispute.

The cases centre on allegations from consumers and survivors that talc products were contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen, because talc is mined from deposits that can be near asbestos seams. J&J said in its announcement that studies show talc is safe, asbestos-free and not a cause of cancer. The BBC also noted that a federal court ruling earlier in July benefited the company by raising questions about whether individual plaintiffs could prove talc directly caused their ovarian cancer.

J&J has already changed its baby powder business, ending US sales of talc-based baby powder more than two years before announcing in 2022 that it would stop making and selling it globally. Its former consumer health arm, Kenvue, which was spun off in 2022 and owns brands including Band-Aid and Listerine, holds liability for Johnson’s baby powder outside North America.