Johnson & Johnson faces huge claim in U.K. over alleged asbestos in talc

London — Thousands of people in the United Kingdom have filed a joint legal claim estimated to be worth more than £1 billion ($1.34 billion) against Johnson & Johnson, accusing the U.S. pharmaceutical giant of selling baby powder that it knew was contaminated with carcinogenic asbestos.

The claim involves more than 3,000 people who developed various forms of cancer and other diseases and is based on internal Johnson & Johnson memos and scientific reports.

The company has long fought thousands of similar cases in the United States, and despite winning some appeals, in June last year it agreed to pay $700 million in a nationwide settlement to resolve allegations that it misled customers about the safety of its talcum-based powder products in its marketing.

Just last week, a Los Angeles jury ordered the firm to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died from a form of cancer after using J&J products.

The U.K. lawsuit, which covers the years 1965 to 2023, claims that Johnson & Johnson, "knew their talc products contained carcinogenic fibres, including asbestos, for more than fifty years and chose to keep it on the market in pursuit of profit."

Despite the alleged knowledge of the carcinogens in its products, the firm only took its talcum powder products off shelves in Britain in 2023, the suit alleges, when it switched to a cornstarch based product — three years after doing so in Canada and the U.S.

"For decades Johnson & Johnson have orchestrated a campaign of denials and subterfuge," said the claimants' lead lawyer, Tom Longstaff of KP Law, which has brought the case before the U.K. High Court. "The facts are clear, contaminated talc contains carcinogenic material and Johnson & Johnson knew the risk to consumers."

"The scale of Johnson & Johnson's corporate wrongdoing is extraordinary, and we will be relentless in holding them to account on behalf of all those who have suffered due to their actions," Longstaff said.

Johnson & Johnson denies all of the allegations, including that it knew it was selling asbestos-contaminated talcum power.

A statement issued on behalf of the company said its baby powder "was compliant with any required regulatory standards, did not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer."

Talc is a naturally occurring mineral that is often found together with asbestos during the mining process, which makes eliminating all traces of asbestos from talcum powder difficult.

The claim alleges people who regularly used Johnson & Johnson talcum powders have developed, and in many cases died from, ovarian cancer, mesothelioma — another form of cancer — uterine fibroids and other diseases.

"My mother used it and I used it," 63-year old Siobhan Ryan told CBS News' news partner network BBC News. "It smelled nice and was soft and lovely. When my babies were born I used it on them. I thought I was doing my best for them … It was such a shock. We just hugged and cried. I couldn't believe what I was hearing when the doctor told me I had stage-four ovarian cancer."

Siobhan, who blames her cancer on Johnson & Johnson's baby powder, has been through three rounds of chemotherapy, near-fatal sepsis, and major abdominal surgery. Doctors say her cancer is no longer operable.

"They knew it was contaminated and still they sold it to new mums and their babies," she said.

According to the U.K. claim, Johnson & Johnson began in the 1960s to commission scientists to analyze its talc-based products. In 1969, an internal memo stated that until tremolite — one of six types of asbestos — was proven to have no adverse effects, its use should be minimized, and noted that talc could no longer be guaranteed to be safe for babies.

By the 1980s, it was widely accepted that all forms of asbestos were dangerous and could cause cancer, but Johnson & Johnson — and other firms — successfully lobbied the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to not regulate asbestos content in talc, according to the lawsuit.

In 2018, the FDA finally began testing talcum powder and other related products for asbestos. A year later, Johnson & Johnson voluntarily withdrew a batch of its powder after the FDA found asbestos fibers in a sample.

The U.K. claims will be decided by a judge, rather than a jury, at the U.K. High Court's Manchester Circuit Commercial Court.

In a statement issued behalf of Johnson & Johnson, the company said it believes the judge will find that its talc-based powder did not cause cancer.