J&J Cleared in Talc-Cancer Trial for Eighth Win This Year

Johnson & Johnson isn’t responsible for a Missouri woman’s cancer that she blamed on asbestos-tainted talc, a jury decided in the company’s latest win in the nationwide litigation over its iconic baby powder.

Jurors in state court in St. Louis concluded Friday J&J’s talc-based product didn’t contribute to the development of Vickie Forrest’s ovarian cancer and didn’t fail to properly warn her about its health risks. Its the company’s first win in the St. Louis courts since last year. Jurors in that same court hit the world’s largest maker of health-care products with a $4.7 billion verdict for more than 20 women who said their use of asbestos-laced baby powder caused their cancers.

The Forrest verdict is J&J’s eighth trial victory in talc cases this year, its fourth win since October and its second triumph this week. It’s a reversal of the company’s earlier talc-litigation scorecard, as it lost three of the first four cases tried in St. Louis over the talc-cancer claims starting in 2016. All of those early plaintiff wins were overturned on appeal.

“The jury carefully considered the decades of independent clinical evidence, which show Johnson’s Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer,” J&J spokeswoman Kimberly Montagnino said in an emailed statement. “We know that anyone suffering from cancer is searching for answers, which is why the science and facts on this topic are so important.”