Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $700 million to settle marketing investigations by 42 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., regarding its baby powder and other talc products, which were accused of causing cancer.
The settlement addresses allegations that Johnson & Johnson misled consumers into believing its talc products, sold for over a century, were safe, even though it stopped selling these products last year.
Johnson & Johnson, which did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement led by Florida, North Carolina, and Texas, stated that its talc products are safe and do not cause cancer. The company announced a settlement in principle in January.
"This is a significant step forward for consumer product safety," Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement.
Johnson & Johnson still faces tens of thousands of talc-related lawsuits, including a class-action lawsuit alleging the company in New Brunswick, New Jersey, misled shareholders by concealing product risks.
As of March 31, about 61,490 people were still suing Johnson & Johnson, most of them women with ovarian cancer, with a smaller number suffering from asbestos-related mesothelioma.
Johnson & Johnson stopped selling talc-based baby powder worldwide last year and switched to cornstarch as the main ingredient, insisting that its products are asbestos-free.
The company twice attempted to resolve these lawsuits by placing a subsidiary under bankruptcy protection, but both attempts were rejected by the courts.
On May 1, Johnson & Johnson proposed a $6.48 billion settlement through a third bankruptcy filing to resolve most of the lawsuits. The company has set aside $11 billion in reserves to address all talc liabilities.
"The company continues to seek multiple avenues for a complete and final resolution of the talc litigation," Eric Haas, Johnson & Johnson's Vice President of Global Litigation, said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We will continue to address claims from those who do not wish to participate in our anticipated bankruptcy resolution through litigation or settlement," he added.
