Johnson & Johnson has offered to pay up to $5.5bn (£4.14bn) to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer — a landmark deal that could close a decade-long legal battle.
The settlement, announced on Monday, covers about 76,000 claims, representing nearly all remaining talc-related lawsuits against the New Jersey-based healthcare giant. But the deal is not final: legal firms representing 95% of the ovarian cancer claimants in state and federal courts must accept it first.
“Johnson & Johnson offers $5.5bn to settle 76,000 lawsuits alleging talc baby powder caused ovarian cancer.”
Johnson & Johnson has repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting its talc is safe and does not contain asbestos. Erik Haas, the company's vice president of litigation, said the claims were “meritless” and that the company was willing to settle in order to “put this matter behind it” and focus on developing life-saving medicines and devices.
“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,” Haas said in a statement.
The company expects to pay $3bn in 2027, with further payments in 2028. However, the total payout could be higher. Chris Seeger, a lawyer representing about 2,500 clients who helped negotiate the agreement, said Johnson & Johnson could ultimately pay $7bn or more. He described it as “a fair settlement” that would leave clients happy.
The settlement assigns specific values to qualifying ovarian cancer claims but does not cap the total payout, Seeger added.
The lawsuits, which began as early as 2009, claimed that Johnson & Johnson's talc products were contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen. The company changed its baby powder formula and stopped selling talc-based versions worldwide in 2022, more than two years after ending US sales.
In a boost for the company earlier this July, a federal court questioned whether individual plaintiffs could prove talc directly caused their ovarian cancer. Johnson & Johnson has also previously settled most cases alleging talc caused mesothelioma.
The deal must now be accepted by 95% of claimants — a threshold that will determine whether the decade-long legal saga finally comes to an end.