US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday offered an $8.9 billion agreement to end all lawsuits filed against it in North America over the sale of talcum powder, which has been blamed for causing cancer.
According to a statement from the group, the agreement, which still has to be approved by a court, will “fairly and effectively resolve all complaints” accusing talcum powder of containing asbestos and causing ovarian cancer.
Johnson & Johnson says the deal does not constitute an admission of guilt, and continues to maintain that its talc-containing products are “safe”, even though it has withdrawn it from the North American market.
The agreement, announced on Tuesday, whose payments by a subsidiary of the conglomerate could extend over 25 years, would “terminate all current and future complaints about talc,” according to a Johnson & Johnson statement.
The company indicated that more than 60,000 plaintiffs agreed to such a solution to the judicial dispute.
“The company continues to believe that these complaints are unfounded and lack scientific merit,” a Johnson & Johnson legal official said in the statement. However, this agreement will allow “compensation to the plaintiffs within a reasonable time.”
In June 2021, after years of litigation, a court order was issued requiring Johnson & Johnson to pay $2.1 billion in damages.
An appeals court in the US state of Missouri ruled that the group had “intentionally sold asbestos-containing products to consumers,” causing “strong physical and psychological suffering.”
While continuing to plead its innocence, Johnson & Johnson announced in May 2020 that it would stop selling this talc-containing powder in the United States and Canada, two countries where sales declined due to changing habits and consumer distrust of the product.