J&J to pay $5.5bn in talc cancer lawsuit | Court Affairs

The settlement ends thousands of lawsuits in the US, and a record UK case against the company.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has agreed to pay $5.5bn to settle thousands of lawsuits in the United States that it abandoned talc powder that caused ovarian cancer.

The pharmaceutical giant made the announcement Monday, saying it covers about 69,000 lawsuits in federal and state courts in the US, accounting for 99.75 percent of talc-related lawsuits in the country.

The decision will become final if approved by 95 percent of the plaintiffs in state or federal courts.

Talc is a soft mineral and was once a staple in cosmetics and baby products, but its use has declined as concerns have grown over its link to cancer.

In 2024, the World Health Organization classified talc as “probably carcinogenic to humans”.

J&J says there is no evidence that talc causes cancer, but it will stop selling talc powder in the US in 2020 and worldwide in 2023.

In 2016, a US judge ordered J&J to pay $72m 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.

Although the case was settled a year later, claims against the company have increased since then, with courts in the US giving way to the plaintiffs.

Erik Haas, J&J’s chief legal officer, said the deal allows J&J to “put this matter behind us”.

Lawyers representing the defendants welcomed the decision as a positive decision in a decade-long court battle.

The agreement does not apply to the United Kingdom, where the largest commercial property case in UK history – involving more than 7,000 potential claimants – is being tried.

Filed in October 2025, the UK lawsuit alleges J&J knew its talc could cause cancer, particularly ovarian and mesothelioma, but continued to sell the product, which the company also denies.

The case has gone to the UK High Court.