THE WHAT? Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay over $100 million to settle more than 1000 lawsuits as it continues to battle claims its talc-based baby powder has caused cancer in thousands of consumers due to a contamination with asbestos, according to a report by Bloomberg. 

THE DETAILS The first set of major settlements in four years of litigation, it is also the first time the personal care giant settled with a bulk of plaintiff lawyers in suits, as opposed to individual cases on the eve of or during trials. 

There are still some 19,000 lawsuits against the company, with the recently settlement coming seven months after it last faced a jury reviewing evidence over the safety of its talc products. 

WHY? The settlement is the latest development in the long-running talc scandal, with the company having pulled all talc-based products from North America earlier this year. However, J&J has long denied the allegations. 

The company said in a statement, “In certain cases we do choose to settle lawsuits, which is done without an admission of liability and in no way changes on our position on the safety of our products.”