Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has set aside $3.9 billion for talc-related litigation, according to a regulatory filing this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington D.C.
The company said it’s now facing more than 25,000 lawsuits related to various talc products that have allegedly caused cancers, primarily from asbestos fiber contamination.
The $3.9 billion is almost double the amount that Johnson & Johnson reported being set aside for litigation expenses in its 2020 fiscal year-end results.
A Missouri Court of Appeals earlier last year upheld a lower-court ruling, but reduced the award from $4.69 billion to $2.12 billion in damages to 22 women who claimed that J&J’s iconic baby powder caused their ovarian cancer. The company is currently appealing that award to the United States Supreme Court.