By Anna Cooban, CNN
(CNN) — Johnson & Johnson has set aside $5.5 billion to resolve tens of thousands of US lawsuits alleging that its talcum powder-based products caused ovarian cancer.
The pharmaceutical giant has offered to pay plaintiffs up to $3 billion in 2027, with any remaining payouts made after 2028. It said in a statement on Monday that it hoped the settlements would bring closure to “meritless 15-year litigation.”
The settlement relates to about 76,000 claims against the company. The proposal needs to be accepted by law firms representing at least 95% of the claimants to go ahead, J&J said in its statement.
J&J has been dogged for years by accusations that talcum powder in its products, including baby powder, contained cancer-causing asbestos. The New Jersey-based firm has repeatedly denied that its products caused cancer. Some scientific studies have shown that women do have an increased risk of ovarian cancer with talc use in the genital area, but others do not.
In 2020, the company ditched its talc-based baby powder in North America to rely on a cornstarch-based formula, and did the same in 2023 for its global sales. In both cases, J&J said it wanted to simplify its portfolio of goods and defended the safety of the talc-based product.
Erik Haas, J&J’s vice president of litigation, said the lawsuits “lack scientific merit.”
“While we are confident the company would have ultimately prevailed with further litigation, as it has in the vast majority of cases tried to date, this resolution allows the company to put this matter behind it,” he said in Monday’s statement.
Chris Seeger, a lawyer representing some of the plaintiffs, called the settlement “a fair measure of long-delayed justice” in a statement on Monday.
In a statement to CNN, Seeger said that the value of the settlement is uncapped and could rise further. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding J&J’s claim that the cases lacked a scientific basis.
Last week, a federal judge cast doubt on around 69,000 claims, saying that plaintiffs must provide specific evidence linking their ovarian cancer to J&J’s baby powder and other talc-based products, according to Reuters.
The lawsuits against J&J have seen mixed outcomes, with the company being held responsible for large verdicts in some cases, and others where juries found the company not liable.
In October, a Los Angeles jury ordered J&J to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died from mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer usually caused by asbestos exposure. The company, which has seen some awards reduced on appeal, said it planned to appeal the most recent decision and called the verdict “egregious and unconstitutional.”
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