Johnson & Johnson dismissed as an “absurd conspiracy theory” a Reuters report on Friday that employees had, for decades, covered up tests showing its baby powder was sometimes tainted with cancer-causing asbestos.
The powder “is safe and asbestos free,” the New Brunswick, N.J.-based company said in a statement, and studies of more than 100,000 people have shown talc — an ingredient in Johnson’s Baby Powder — doesn’t cause cancer or asbestos-related disease. “Thousands of independent tests by regulators and the world’s leading labs prove our baby powder has never contained asbestos,” Johnson & Johnson said.
The healthcare-product manufacturer’s shares tumbled 10 percent to $133 in New York trading on Friday after the article from news service Reuters, which cited confidential memos, documents from lawsuits over baby powder and depositions and trial testimony.
Talc, a mineral consisting mainly of magnesium, silicon and oxygen, sometimes contains asbestos — linked to mesothelioma as well as ovarian and other cancers — in its natural form, according to the American Cancer Society. Since the 1970s, manufacturers have routinely tested mined talc to ensure it’s asbestos-free before using it in cosmetic products.
Johnson & Johnson acknowledged mounting product-liability lawsuits over its baby powder, with cases filed primarily in Missouri, California and New Jersey, in a regulatory filing as recently as October. Chief Executive Officer Alex Gorsky has promised to appeal a $4.7 billion verdict against the firm in a Missouri lawsuit.
“Scientific and regulatory bodies, including the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, have fully reviewed the full body of scientific evidence on multiple occasions and found that it does not support the allegation that talc causes ovarian cancer,” Gorsky told investors after the Missouri award.
The Reuters article ignores the thousands of tests showing that Johnson & Johnson’s talc doesn’t contain asbestos as well as the company’s full cooperation with the FDA and other regulators, Johnson & Johnson said Friday.
“Every method available to test J&J’s talc for asbestos has been used by J&J, regulators, or independent experts, and all of these methods have all found that our cosmetic talc is asbestos-free,” the firm said. “The Reuters story is an absurd conspiracy theory, in that it apparently has spanned over 40 years, orchestrated among generations of global regulators, the world’s foremost scientists and universities, leading independent labs, and J&J employees themselves.”
Reuters stands by its reporting, a representative for the news service said.
