Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has reached a $700m settlement with more than 40 US states over their investigation into the marketing of its talcum powder-based products, which have been alleged to cause cancer.
The agreement resolves allegations that the company misled consumers in advertisements related to the safety of the products, including its baby powder.
A tentative deal was originally announced in January and the settlement was led by the attorneys general of Florida, North Carolina and Texas.
J&J has ended global sales of the affected products in favour of cornstarch versions, with the company continuing to maintain that the products are safe.
Under the new consent judgement, J&J will not resume the manufacturing, marketing, promotion, sale and distribution of all baby and body powder products and cosmetic powder products that contain talcum powder in the US.
J&J continues to face tens of thousands of talc lawsuits, as well as a class action accusing it of hiding the products’ dangers from shareholders.
The company has been trying to resolve claims since 2021, assigning a subsidiary to manage them before filing a bankruptcy petition – a move sometimes referred to as a ‘Texas Two-Step’.
A bankruptcy judge had initially ruled in favour of the move back in 2022, but the strategy faltered last year when LTL’s petition was rejected on the grounds that neither LTL nor J&J had a legitimate need for bankruptcy protection because they were not in “financial distress”.
The company’s attempt to resolve the lawsuits failed again after a US judge ruled that a second bankruptcy file must be dismissed.
J&J put forward its latest settlement last month, offering $6.475bn over 25 years to customers with ovarian cancer claims.
Erik Haas, worldwide vice president of litigation, J&J, said at the time of the announcement: “The plan is the culmination of our consensual resolution strategy that we announced last October.
“Since then, the company has worked with counsel representing the overwhelming majority of talc claimants to bring this litigation to a close, which we expect to do through this plan.”