Johnson & Johnson announced Monday that it has reached a $5.5 billion settlement to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits claiming its talc-based baby powder and other products caused ovarian cancer, marking a major step toward ending years of high-profile litigation against the healthcare giant.

According to the company, the agreement resolves approximately 69,000 lawsuits that have been consolidated in federal court in New Jersey, along with related state court cases. Altogether, the settlement covers 99.75% of the remaining talc-related claims currently pending against the company.

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs confirmed the agreement on Monday, describing it as a positive resolution following a legal battle that has stretched on for roughly a decade. The settlement still requires approval from the federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation.

Erik Haas, Johnson & Johnson’s vice president of litigation, maintained that the allegations against the company were unfounded but said settling the cases was the best way to finally bring the dispute to an end.

“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 and remain focused on its mission to develop medicines and devices that save lives,” Haas said.

The settlement follows a significant legal victory for Johnson & Johnson last week, when a federal judge questioned whether individual plaintiffs could demonstrate that talc itself specifically caused their ovarian cancer.

Throughout the litigation, Johnson & Johnson has consistently denied that its talc products were responsible for causing cancer, asserting that its talc was safe and free of asbestos contamination. The company discontinued sales of its talc-based baby powder in the United States in 2020 and replaced it with a cornstarch-based version.

The lawsuits resumed in March 2025 after remaining on hold for more than three years while Johnson & Johnson unsuccessfully attempted to resolve the claims through the bankruptcy of a subsidiary created to handle the litigation.

Unlike the company’s earlier bankruptcy proposals, the newly announced settlement applies only to existing lawsuits and does not resolve or limit any future talc-related claims that may be filed.

{Matzav.com}