Settlement resolves thousands of US lawsuits, with a record UK case against the company under way.
Published On ۲۸ Jul ۲۰۲۶۲۸ Jul ۲۰۲۶
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has agreed to pay $۵.۵bn to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits in the United States that allege its discontinued talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer.
The pharmaceutical giant made the announcement on Monday, saying it covers about ۶۹,۰۰۰ cases in US federal and state courts, accounting for ۹۹.۷۵ percent of outstanding talc-related cases in the country.
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The settlement will only be final once it is accepted by ۹۵ percent of the claimants in state or federal courts.
Talc is a soft mineral and was once a staple ingredient in cosmetics and baby products, but its use has declined as concerns rose over its links to cancer.
In ۲۰۲۴, the World Health Organization classified talc as “probably carcinogenic to humans”.
J&J maintains that there is no evidence that talc causes cancer, but it stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the US in ۲۰۲۰ and worldwide in ۲۰۲۳.
In ۲۰۱۶, a US jury ordered J&J to pay $۷۲m to the family of a woman who died of ovarian cancer, the first such case related to the use of the mineral in the country.
Though the case was overturned a year later, claims against the company have multiplied since, with juries across the US awarding the plaintiffs.
Erik Haas, J&J’s litigation head, said the agreement lets J&J “put this matter behind it”.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs welcomed the settlement as a good resolution to a decade-long court battle.
The deal does not cover the United Kingdom, where the largest product liability case in UK history – covering more than ۷,۰۰۰ potential claimants – is being adjudicated.
Filed in October ۲۰۲۵, the UK case alleges that J&J knew that its talc could cause cancers, chiefly ovarian and mesothelioma, but continued to sell the product, a claim the company also denies.
The case has since gone before the UK High Court.
