Johnson & Johnson Fights Back Against Talcum Powder Cancer By Suing Researchers
- Chaileedo Press
- Jul 14, 2023
- 2 min read
Johnson & Johnson subsidiary LTL believes that some or all of the patients involved in the study had been exposed to asbestos products from other sources.
Johnson & Johnson has reportedly sued four researchers who published studies on talc products and cancer that point to a link between talc-based personal care products and cancer, escalating its attack on the company's claims of inaccurate scientific research.
The company last week filed a lawsuit in federal court in New Jersey to force three researchers to "retract and/or issue corrections" to a study that said the use of contaminated talcum powder products can sometimes lead to mesothelioma in patients, a finding that has led to damage to the products' reputations and allegations of fraud on Johnson & Johnson's part.
Johnson & Johnson subsidiary LTL sued, Emory and Maddox, pathologists affiliated with Peninsula Pathology Associates in Newport News, Virginia, and Kradin, a pulmonologist who worked at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center before his retirement, and Jacqueline Moline, another doctor who has implemented research on cancer patients who use talcum powder.
Moline reportedly published an article in 2019 that studied 33 patients who said their only exposure to asbestos came from talcum powder products, after which Emory, Kradin and Maddox conducted a follow-up study of 75 similar patients in 2020.
The LTL complaint alleges that all four doctors provided expert testimony in the lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, and their studies were cited in the lawsuit in which they did not testify. However, the researchers concealed the fact that some or all of the patients involved in the study had been exposed to asbestos from other sources. The company also asked the court to compel the researchers to disclose the identities of the patients.
Johnson & Johnson is reportedly facing more than 38,000 lawsuits alleging that the company's talcum powder products, including baby powder, were contaminated with asbestos and caused cancers such as ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. To handle such cases, in October 2021, Johnson & Johnson formed a subsidiary, LTL, and announced that the company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. At this point, LTL was up to $10 billion in debt, according to documents filed by LTL in this regard.
Over the past 10 years, Johnson & Johnson has faced more than 38,000 talc-related lawsuits involving damages totaling more than $2.2 billion.
In April this year, Johnson & Johnson said it plans to pay $8.9 billion in compensation over the next 25 years, which also hit "the highest amount of compensation in the history of global beauty". And for this bloodletting, Johnson & Johnson is also intended to completely solve the matter of bankruptcy protection.
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