Personal care behemoth Johnson & Johnson has fallen victim to a lawsuit suggesting the company failed to provide information regarding the risks of ovarian cancer following use of its talcum powder, with over 1000 women joining the suit.

The trial is said to commence on April 11th with billions of dollars at stake, a further hit for the company that has spent out over $5 billion since 2013 to resolve legal claims against its products.

The women in the case suggest that they have been using J&J talcum powder in their underwear and on their genitals in order to stay fresh and prevent odour, which has now caused ovarian cancer in many cases.

J&J’s products are classified as cosmetics and as such do not have to go through FDA review processes. Talc is the main ingredient which the company states goes through “a sophisticated battery of tests designed to ensure quality, safety, and compliance with all global standards.”

Indeed, on its website the company states the products are, “accepted as safe for use in cosmetic and personal care products” by numerous health agencies. Indeed J&J rebukes the claims, stating that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has not identified talc as a risk factor for ovarian cancer.

It continues, “The Nurses’ Health Study (2010) and the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Cohort (2014), the only two large-scale prospective studies looking at talc and ovarian cancer, found no causal relationship between talc and ovarian cancer.”