Johnson & Johnson tots up a potential $4b talc bill as tens of thousands of lawsuits pile up

Lawsuits filed against Johnson & Johnson over claims its talc powders caused cancer could cost the company roughly twice as much than it estimated last year. J&J said in its latest annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that its multibillion-dollar 2020 litigation expense is “primarily associated with talc related reserves and certain settlements” totaling $3.9 billion. The company faces 25,000 lawsuits alleging the products caused cancer. In 2018, a St. Louis jury ordered the drugmaker to pay $4.7 billion, but an appeals court last summer reduced that figure to $2.1 billion. With additional interest, the verdict is now $2.5 billion, and J&J is appealing the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. J&J said in its SEC filing that it “continues to believe that it has strong legal grounds for the appeal of this verdict, as well as other verdicts that it has appealed.” In some instances, J&J decided to settle, including about 1,000 cases for more than $100 million settled last year. In November, a court in New York ordered J&J to pay $120 million to a Brooklyn couple for their talc cancer claims. The company also removed its talc-based powders from the U.S. market last year, citing a portfolio review prompted by the pandemic.