Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has agreed to pay almost $9bn (£7.2bn) to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its talc powder causes cancer.
The new offer significantly exceeds its previous offer of $2 billion.
The company faces about 40,000 complaints from People claim its talc products cause cancer Due to contamination with asbestos, a known carcinogen.
J&J has always denied the allegations, saying decades of scientific testing and regulatory approvals show its talc is safe and asbestos-free.
The company pulled its talc-based baby powder from the U.S. market in 2020, saying “misinformation” about the product’s safety caused demand to plummet.
last year it announced that it was Discontinuation of global sales of products And will move to cornstarch based powders.
The new offer is related to the bankruptcy claim of the company’s subsidiary LTL.
J&J created subsidiaries to take responsibility for the talc claims, but an attempt to file for bankruptcy in January failed after a court said the company was not in financial distress.
It filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday.
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“Importantly, neither LTL’s original filing nor this re-filing is an admission of wrongdoing or a change in the company’s longstanding position on the safety of its talc products,” the company said.
Eric Hass, Johnson & Johnson’s vice president of global litigation, added: “The company still finds these claims to be specious and lack scientific support.”
But “resolution of these cases in the tort system would take decades and impose enormous costs on LTL and the system, with most claimants never receiving any compensation,” he said.
Mr Haas said: “It is both fairer and more efficient to address this issue through the proposed restructuring plan, allowing claimants to be compensated in a timely manner and allowing the company to remain focused on our commitment to having a profound and positive impact on human health.”