Talc and cancers: Johnson & Johnson proposes $8.9 billion to end lawsuits
The Johnson & Johnson logo visible on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 (illustration photo). AP - Richard Drew
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The American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson says it is ready to pay nearly $ 9 billion to end the lawsuits related to the sale of talc, accused of causing cancer. While refuting this accusation, the American pharmaceutical giant had withdrawn its talc from stores in the United States and Canada.
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According to Johnson & Johnson, this agreement of 8.9 billion euros exactly, "will resolve fairly and effectively all complaints" present and future, accusing its talc of containing asbestos and causing ovarian cancer.
The pharmaceutical group, however, specifies that this agreement is not a guilty plea and that its talc is "safe", even if it has withdrawn it from the market in the United States and Canada. He also said that the approximately 60,000 complainants had agreed to the resolution of the dispute.
Payments should be made by a subsidiary and spread over 25 years.
In June 2021, the group was ordered to pay more than $2 billion in damages. A Missouri court ruled that he had "knowingly sold asbestos-containing products to consumers," causing "physical, mental and emotional anguish."
However, tests conducted in 2020 on 250,000 women in the United States had not proven a statistical link between the use of talcum powder on the genitals and the risk of ovarian cancer.
The agreement must first be approved by the courts.
► Read also: Johnson & Johnson stops its global sales of baby talcum powder after years of scandal
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