Shares of Johnson & Johnson have been affected on Tuesday when an appeals court affirmed a ruling in favor of the 20 women who ascribed their ovarian cancer to the talcum powder produced by the pharma giant. The Missouri Court of Appeals cut the sum as established in the 2018 decision taken by a jury to roughly $2.12 billion, from the originally quoted $4.69 billion.
The company has seen mixed results in the thousands of lawsuits that have cropped up against them in the last few years.
The complaining party has claimed that the baby powder which is being used every day for feminine hygiene, contains asbestos mixed with talcum, causing complications. These complications include mesothelioma, cancer which develops in the tissue around the lungs.
Medical professionals at the New Brunswick, N.J. healthcare giant state that scientific testing shows no evidence of the claims. The company has contested each of the 19,400 cases on individual face value. The sale of this powder has been discontinued in the USA and Canada since May 2020.
Demands for the product seem to be faltering as well as a consequence of changing consumer habits and misinformation around the safety of use. In a statement by the company, it is said that Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder represents only 0.5% of the total US Consumer Health business. The shares have been trading at $143.41, climbing 20% over the last three months.
