Johnson & Johnson has offered to pay up to $5.5 billion to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits in the United States alleging that its baby powder and other talc-containing products caused ovarian cancer, marking one of the largest product-liability settlements in corporate history.
The proposed landmark agreement aims to close a long-running legal battle that has weighed on the New Jersey-based healthcare giant for years. J&J has denied that its talc-based products caused cancer and has already changed the formula of its widely used baby powder to cornstarch.
Erik Haas, the company vice president of litigation, said the allegations are "meritless" and that J&J was willing to settle in order to finally resolve the matter. The settlement would cover approximately 76,000 cases, representing most of the remaining talc-related claims against the company.
Under the terms of the proposal, J&J will offer up to $3 billion in 2027, with no additional payments due before 2028. The structure of the payout is designed to spread the financial burden over several years while providing compensation to claimants.
The proposal must be accepted by law firms representing 95% of the ovarian cancer claims in state and federal courts before it can be finalised. That threshold is designed to ensure broad participation and prevent a subset of holdout plaintiffs from prolonging the litigation.
Haas said in a statement that the company is confident it would have "ultimately prevailed with further litigation," just as it has in the majority of cases heard in court to date. He added that the proposed resolution "allows the company to put this matter behind it" and enable J&J to remain focused on developing medicines and devices that save lives.
Lawsuits against J&J over its talc-based baby powder began as early as 2009. Plaintiffs and their survivors claimed that the talc products caused ovarian cancer due to contamination with asbestos, a known carcinogen that is found in close proximity to talc deposits in the earth.
J&J has consistently denied the allegations. In its latest announcement, the company said: "Studies show talc is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer." The company pointed to multiple court victories where juries and judges had found in its favour.
Earlier in July, a federal court handed the company a significant victory by questioning individual plaintiffs ability to show that talc was the direct cause of their ovarian cancer. That ruling had strengthened J&J negotiating position ahead of the settlement talks.
The company former consumer health business, Kenvue, holds liability for Johnson baby powder outside North America. Kenvue, which owns well-known brands including Band-Aid, Listerine and Calpol, was spun off from J&J in 2022 as part of a strategic restructuring.
In 2022, J&J said it would stop making and selling its talc-based baby powder around the world. The announcement came more than two years after it had ended sales of the product in the United States. The company transitioned to an all-cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio, citing a worldwide portfolio assessment.
The $5.5 billion settlement offer is a significant sum even for a company of J&J size. The healthcare giant reported annual revenue of more than $88 billion in 2025. However, the legal cloud has been a persistent overhang on the stock, with investors uncertain about the ultimate cost of resolving the talc litigation.
Legal analysts said a successful settlement would remove a major source of uncertainty for J&J and its shareholders. "This has been a decade-long overhang," said one analyst. "Getting it resolved, even at a significant cost, allows the company to move forward."
The settlement is subject to approval by the courts and the required threshold of plaintiff law firms. If approved, it would bring to a close one of the most extensive product-liability sagas in American legal history, involving tens of thousands of individual claims consolidated across multiple jurisdictions.
Shares of J&J rose in after-hours trading following the announcement, suggesting investors welcomed the prospect of resolution despite the high cost. The company said it expects to book the settlement charge in its upcoming quarterly earnings report.
discussion