2023-04-05 06:54:31
The American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday April 5 offered an agreement of 8.9 billion dollars (about 8.1 billion euros) to end all lawsuits against it in North America for the sale of talc accused of having caused cancer.
According to a statement from the group, the agreement, which must still be approved by a court, “will fairly and effectively resolve all complaints” accusing its talc of containing asbestos and causing ovarian cancer.
60,000 complainants gave their consent
Johnson & Johnson indicates that this agreement does not constitute an admission of guilt, and always assures that its talc is ” on “, even though it pulled it from the North American market. In post-closing trading on Wall Street, the group’s stock took more than 3% to 163.35 dollars following the announcement.
The agreement, whose payments made by a subsidiary may be spread over 25 years, must “close all present and future complaints about talc”, the statement said. The company specifies that more than 60,000 complainants have agreed to such a resolution of the dispute.
“The company continues to believe that these complaints are unfounded and lack scientific merit,” said a legal official from ” NOT A WORD “ in the press release. But this agreement will allow “the plaintiffs to be compensated within a reasonable time”.
“Products containing asbestos”
In June 2021, after years of litigation, Johnson & Johnson was finally ordered to pay $2.1 billion in damages.
A Missouri appeals court held that the group had “knowingly sold products containing asbestos to consumers”causing a strong “physical, mental and emotional anguish”.
While maintaining its innocence, Johnson & Johnson announced in May 2020 that it was stopping selling this talc-based powder in the United States and Canada, countries where sales have declined due to changing habits and trends. distrust of the product.
Asbestos contamination
A summary of studies published in January 2020 and involving 250,000 women in the United States had found no statistical link between the use of talc on the genitals and the risk of ovarian cancer.
Four in ten women in the United States, especially older ones, have used talcum powder to absorb wetness and odor, either by applying it directly to the genitals or by putting it on an undergarment, tampon or diaphragm.
In the 1970s a concern arose about the contamination of talc by asbestos, which is often close in nature to the minerals used to make talc. Then studies showed a higher risk of ovarian cancer in users of talc, which was suspected of being able to travel to the ovaries via the vagina and uterus.
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