American multinational brand Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $4.7 billion after 22 women alleged that its talc products caused them to develop ovarian cancer.
Mark Lanier, the leader of these women, claimed that Johnson & Johnson had covered up evidence of asbestos in its products for more than 40 years. The pharma giant is currently battling around 9,000 legal cases involving its signature baby powder. In the 6-week trial, the women and their families revealed that they developed ovarian cancer after using baby powder and other talc products. Out of the 22 women who represented in this case, 6 have died from ovarian cancer. A jury has awarded the women $4.14 billion in punitive damages and $550m in compensatory damages.
The company has called the trial “fundamentally unfair” and said it would appeal the verdict. “The evidence in the case was simply overwhelmed by the prejudice of this type of proceeding. Johnson & Johnson remains confident that its products do not contain asbestos and do not cause ovarian cancer,” J&J said in a statement.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did a study of talc samples, including J&J, from 2009 to 2010 and found no asbestos in any of them. The prices of shares dropped by $1.31 to $126.45 after the punitive damages award.
Lawyers alleged Johnson & Johnson knew its talc was contaminated with asbestos since the 1970s but never warned consumers about the risks. For your kind information, Talc is one of world’s softest rock and is a mineral closely linked to asbestos. The mineral talc in its natural form does cause cancer, however, asbestos-free talc has been used in baby powder and other cosmetics since the 1970s. Studies on asbestos-free talc show contradictory results.
