Allegations that Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) baby powder causes cancer have been surfacing for years, and the lawsuits brought against the company by victims of asbestos exposure by means of talcum are continuing into the new year and decade.
Johnson & Johnson currently has over 16,800 of these active lawsuits, according to The New York Times. The plaintiffs have typically been individuals. However, the first of these lawsuits of the year against the company, filed January 2, 2020, is being led by a state.
Attorney General of New Mexico Hector Balderas has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and three other corporations: Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Corporation (NYSE: VRX), and Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America LLC.
Balderas is claiming that Johnson & Johnson "concealed and failed to warn consumers about the dangers associated with their talc products." Furthermore, the New Mexico Attorney General says that "these products have been targeted at minority groups, especially Black and Hispanic women and children, with false messages about their safety."
Numerous cases have been filed and gone to trial already, but historically the courts have ruled in Johnson & Johnson's favor, at least when the plaintiffs have been individuals.
One such case back in October 2019 involved a woman who claimed that the company's baby powder caused her ovarian cancer. The jury did not side with the plaintiff.
"This is the fourth consecutive verdict in favor of Johnson & Johnson in these cases and the eighth defense verdict this year," said a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson regarding the verdict. "The jury carefully considered the decades of independent clinical evidence, which show Johnson's Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer."
Johnson & Johnson has remained committed that its baby powder isn't dangerous even despite an FDA finding to the contrary.
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning, also in October 2019, based on a study in which they found trace amounts of asbestos in a bottle of Johnson & Johnson's baby powder, which is talcum-based. Johnson & Johnson recalled 33,000 bottles based on the study.
However, upon conducting their own investigation of the same samples using third-party labs, the company now claims the FDA's study was flawed, as the follow up found no trace amounts of asbestos.
The FDA stands by its findings, stating other possible reasons for the different test outcomes, such as the lack of a standard test or the irregular dispersal of asbestos within the sample bottle.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of Justice have also been conducting investigations.