Johnson & Johnson will continue to defend the safety of its talc-based products, despite a seemingly never-ending stream of body powder lawsuits, according to a report published by FiercePharma.
Gene Williams, a Houston-based attorney who has defended the company in three separate talc-related lawsuits, says that the company believes the products are safe, and that there is no proven link between the use of talc and ovarian cancer.
However, legal experts are predicting that Johnson & Johnson will move towards a global settlement, rather than continuing to defend its position over several separate cases. At least 1,400 cases have been filed over related claims, according to data published by Reuters, and the company is due in court in both Missouri and New Jersey this fall.
“The more talc verdicts that come down against them adds to the public’s growing distrust of their baby powder, which is one of their iconic products,” University of Richmond Law Professor Carl Tobias told Fierce Pharma. “There are both economic and reputational issues that may motivate them to start thinking about a global settlement of these cases.”