Dive Brief:
- A judge in South Dakota has ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay $55 million to a woman who says that the company's talcum powder caused her ovarian cancer, Bloomberg reports.
- This case is one of roughly 1,200 that J&J faces. The suit contends that the company knew of an alleged link between talcum-based products such as Johnson's Baby Powder and an increased risk of ovarian cancer—and failed to warn consumers about the risk.
- J&J says that the verdict contradicts 30 years’ worth of evidence, and that it will appeal the decision.
Dive Insight:
The court decision handed J&J another loss in this large-scale suit. In February, a St. Louis jury ordered the company to pay the family of Jackie Fox, an ovarian cancer patient who died from the disease last year, $72 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Now, another victim—who is still alive—is being awarded $55 million, including $5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.
Other plaintiffs in Missouri and New Jersey are also moving forward with their cases, which are focused on women who used Johnson's Baby Powder or Shower-to-Shower products as part of a feminine hygiene regimen, without knowing of a potential cancer link.
J&J maintains there is no evidence to support such a link, but lawyers in the case have cited documents from the 1970's suggesting the company was aware of the health risk.
However, in April 2014, the FDA issued a statement saying it had not found "conclusive evidence" of a link between talc usage for feminine hygiene and ovarian cancer.