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Traditional Media Coverage
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J&J Must Pay $72 Million Over Talc Tied to Woman's Cancer
Feb 22, 2016 | Bloomberg
By Tim Bross and Jef Feeley
Johnson & Johnson must pay $72 million to the family of a woman who blamed her fatal ovarian cancer on the company’s talcum powder in the first state-court case over the claims to go to trial. -
St. Louis jury awards $72M in Johnson & Johnson cancer suit
Feb 23, 2016 | Associated Press
A St. Louis jury has awarded $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who sued Johnson & Johnson over ovarian cancer she said was caused by using its baby powder and other products containing talcum. -
Missouri jury awards $72M in Johnson & Johnson cancer suit
Feb 23, 2016 | Associated Press
By Alan Scher Zagier
A Missouri jury has awarded $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who died from ovarian cancer, which she said was caused by using Johnson & Johnson's well-known baby powder and other products containing talcum. -
J&J must pay $72 million for cancer death linked to talcum powder: lawyers
Feb 23, 2016 | Reuters
By Jonathan Stempel
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) was ordered by a Missouri state jury to pay $72 million of damages to the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was linked to her use of the company's talc-based Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for several decades. -
Pharmalot, Pharmalittle: J&J to pay $72m in damages, Valeant may restate financial results
Feb 23, 2016 | STAT News
By Ed Silverman
Johnson & Johnson must pay $72 million in damages to the family of a woman who blamed her fatal ovarian cancer on talcum powder sold by the health care giant, Bloomberg News reports. This was the first state-court case to go to trial over claims that the company knew decades ago that its talc-based products could cause cancer, but, nonetheless, failed to warn consumers. -
Jury orders health care giant to pay $72 million in talcum powder cancer case
Feb 23, 2016 | St. Louis Today
By Kim Bell
A St. Louis jury on Monday night awarded $72 million to the family of a woman who claimed her longtime use of baby powder and other Johnson & Johnson products contributed to the ovarian cancer that killed her. -
Family of Alabama woman awarded $72 million over talc powder link to ovarian cancer
Feb 23, 2016 | Birmingham News
By Kent Faulk
A St. Louis jury has ruled that pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has to pay the family of a Tarrant woman $72 million for her claims that the company's talc powder products she used caused her ovarian cancer. -
J&J Must Pay $72 Million in Talc Powder-Ovarian Cancer Case
Feb 23, 2016 | Medscape
By Nick Mulcahy
A St. Louis jury has awarded $72 million to the family of a woman who died of ovarian cancer and said that her long-time use of Johnson & Johnson talc powder products contributed to her cancer. The jury decision is the first financial award in a lawsuit related to this issue.. -
Johnson & Johnson Dealt $72 Million Courtroom Loss in Talc-Ovarian Cancer Case
Feb 23, 2016 | Fair Warning Report
By Myron Levin
Johnson & Johnson has suffered a major courtroom defeat in the first in a wave of lawsuits claiming that talc products marketed by the company for feminine hygiene use caused ovarian cancer. -
J&J Slammed With $72M Verdict In Talc Cancer Case
Feb 23, 2016 | Law360
By Joe Van Acker
A jury in St. Louis awarded $72 million late Monday to the estate of a woman who died of ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson’s body powder for decades, reportedly the first time the company has been ordered to pay damages over the link between cancer and the talc used in its products. -
Woman Who Used J&J Products Awarded $72M
Feb 23, 2016 | Courthouse News Service
By Joe Harris
An Alabama woman's family was awarded $72 million by a city jury Monday night on her claims that she developed ovarian cancer through the longtime use of Johnson & Johnson baby powder and other talc-based products. -
Johnson & Johnson must pay £51 million in suit claiming Baby Powder led to ovarian cancer
Feb 23, 2016 | Telegraph
By Sarah Knapton, and David Lawler
The pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $72 million (£51 million) to the family of a woman who claimed her ovarian cancer was caused by talcum powder. -
J&J To Pay $72m Over Talc-Linked Cancer Death
Feb 23, 2016 | Sky News
A jury in Missouri awarded $10m of actual damages and $62m of punitive damages to the family of Jacqueline Fox, her family's lawyers said. -
Sky News Video Clip
Feb 23, 2016 | Sky News
Please find the thirty second segment from Sky News below. Clip can be viewed here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/21260173?token=69a14d2a-0cda-4643-b156-e89279b5f2f2 -
Sky Midnight News Video Clip
Feb 23, 2016 | Sky News
View full clip here: http://beta.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/21260335?token=73d6d9e6-f77b-40d1-a2b0-7d7dc81d05fe -
WGN Midday News (Chicago, IL) Video Clip
| WGN Chicago, IL
Please find a video clip and rough transcript from WGN Chicago below: http://beta.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/21257049?token=73d6d9e6-f77b-40d1-a2b0-7d7dc81d05fe -
KPLR Clip (St. Louis, MO)
Feb 23, 2016 | KPLR
Clip can be viewed here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/21259668?token=69a14d2a-0cda-4643-b156-e89279b5f2f2 -
KTVI-Fox Clip (St. Louis, MO)
Feb 23, 2016 | KTVI-Fox
Clip can be viewed here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/21260276?token=db41ff34-ad70-4c40-8cfd-06445bfa5a16
U.S. Traditional Coverage
Ex-US Traditional Coverage
Broadcast Coverage
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J&J Must Pay $72 Million Over Talc Tied to Woman's Cancer
Feb 22, 2016 | Bloomberg
By Tim Bross and Jef Feeley
Johnson & Johnson must pay $72 million to the family of a woman who blamed her fatal ovarian cancer on the company’s talcum powder in the first state-court case over the claims to go to trial.
Jurors in St. Louis on Monday concluded J&J should pay $10 million in compensatory damages and $62 million in a punishment award to the family of Jackie Fox, who died of ovarian cancer last year after using Johnson’s baby powder and another talc-based product for years.
It’s the first time a jury has ordered J&J, the world’s largest maker of health-care products, to pay damages over claims that it knew decades ago that its talc-based products could cause cancer and failed to warn consumers.
J&J is facing about 1,200 suits claiming studies have linked its Johnson’s Baby Powder and its Shower-to-Shower product to ovarian cancer. Women contend the company knew of the risk and failed to warn customers.
The jury foreman, Krista Smith, called the company’s internal documents “decisive” for jurors, who reached the verdict after four hours of deliberations.
“It was really clear they were hiding something,” said Smith, 39, of St Louis. “All they had to do was put a warning label on.”
Gerard Noce, a lawyer for J&J, declined to comment on the verdict. Allen Smith, a lawyer for the family, said, “It was a just verdict given the horrible conduct of J&J.”
J&J marketed its Shower to Shower brand talc for feminine hygiene. One 1988 ad promised “just a sprinkle a day keeps odor away.” Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., which acquired the Shower to Shower brand in 2012, wasn’t a defendant in the St. Louis case.
Wallboard, Balloons
Talc is used in products as varied as wallboard and the powder that keeps elastic balloons from sticking together. Baby powder is estimated to be an $18.8 million market in the U.S., according to the Statistic Brain Research Group. About 19 percent of U.S. households use J&J’s brand, according to another research group, Statista.
Corn starch has been widely substituted for talc as an absorbent in baby powder and feminine hygiene products. The American Cancer Society advised in 1999 that women use corn starch-based products in the genital area.
J&J, which introduced a baby powder using corn starch in the 1970s, continues to offer products that include talc and maintains the substance is safe.
In Fox’s case, her family’s lawyers urged jurors to find J&J officials hid its talc products’ health risks and should pay at least $22 million in damages.
The case is Fox v. Johnson & Johnson, Cause No. 1422-CC09012-01, Division No. 10, Missouri Circuit Court, Twenty Second Judicial District (St. Louis).
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St. Louis jury awards $72M in Johnson & Johnson cancer suit
Feb 23, 2016 | Associated Press
A St. Louis jury has awarded $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who sued Johnson & Johnson over ovarian cancer she said was caused by using its baby powder and other products containing talcum.
The civil suit by Jackie Fox of Birmingham was part of a broader Missouri claim involving nearly 60 people. Her son took over as plaintiff following his mother's October 2015 death.
Fox's attorneys said the jury verdict Monday night was the first such case among more than 1,000 nationally to result in a monetary award.
The jury said that Fox was entitled to $10 million in actual damages and $62 million in punitive damages.
A Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman said Tuesday that the New Jersey-based company was considering whether to appeal the verdict.
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Missouri jury awards $72M in Johnson & Johnson cancer suit
Feb 23, 2016 | Associated Press
By Alan Scher Zagier
A Missouri jury has awarded $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who died from ovarian cancer, which she said was caused by using Johnson & Johnson's well-known baby powder and other products containing talcum.
The civil suit by Jackie Fox of Birmingham was part of a broader claim in the city of St. Louis Circuit Court involving nearly 60 people. Her son took over as plaintiff following his mother's October 2015 death at 62, more than two years after her diagnosis.
Marvin Salter of Jacksonville, Florida, said his late mother, who was a foster parent, used the iconic talcum powder as a bathroom staple for decades.
"It just became second nature, like brushing your teeth," he said. "It's a household name. "
A Fox attorney said the jury verdict Monday night, which came after nearly five hours of deliberations at the conclusion of a three-week trial, was the first such case among more than 1,000 nationally to result in a jury's monetary award.
The jury said that Fox was entitled to $10 million in actual damages and $62 million in punitive damages. Attorney James Onder said he "absolutely" expects Johnson & Johnson — the world's biggest maker of health care products — to appeal the verdict.
The New Jersey-based company previously has been targeted by health and consumer groups over possibly harmful ingredients in items including its iconic Johnson's No More Tears baby shampoo.
In May 2009, a coalition of groups called the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics began pushing Johnson & Johnson to eliminate questionable ingredients from its baby and adult personal care products. After three years of petitions, negative publicity and a boycott threat, the company agreed in 2012 to eliminate the ingredients 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde, both considered probable human carcinogens, from all products by 2015.
Spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said Tuesday that the New Jersey-based company was considering its next legal move. In a written statement, she said the verdict "goes against decades of sound science proving the safety of talc as a cosmetic ingredient in multiple products," citing supportive research by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and National Cancer Institute.
At trial, Fox's attorneys introduced into evidence a September 1997 internal memo from a Johnson & Johnson medical consultant suggesting that "anybody who denies (the) risks" between "hygenic" talc use and ovarian cancer will be publicly perceived in the same light as those who denied a link between smoking cigarettes and cancer: "denying the obvious in the face of all evidence to the contrary."
Talc is naturally occurring, mined from the soil and composed of magnesium, silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen. It's widely used in cosmetics and personal care products, such as talcum powder, to absorb moisture, prevent caking and improve the product's feel.
Nora Freeman Engstrom, a Stanford University law professor not involved in the Missouri case, said it's unlikely the $72 million award will survive, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court, in a recent series of rulings, has maintained that appellate courts clamp down on punitive damages.
"Big jury verdicts do tend to be reined in during the course of the appellate process, and I expect that to be the case here," she told The Associated Press.
The verdict Monday "doesn't bode well for Johnson & Johnson" as it faces at least 1,200 still-pending lawsuits and possibly thousands more, she said.
"This case clearly was a bellwether, and clearly the jury has seen the evidence and found it compelling," she said, concluding "the jury was distressed by the company's conduct."
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J&J must pay $72 million for cancer death linked to talcum powder: lawyers
Feb 23, 2016 | Reuters
By Jonathan Stempel
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) was ordered by a Missouri state jury to pay $72 million of damages to the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was linked to her use of the company's talc-based Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for several decades.
In a verdict announced late Monday night, jurors in the circuit court of St. Louis awarded the family of Jacqueline Fox $10 million of actual damages and $62 million of punitive damages, according to the family's lawyers and court records.
The verdict is the first by a U.S. jury to award damages over the claims, the lawyers said.
Johnson & Johnson faces several hundred lawsuits claiming that it, in an effort to boost sales, failed for decades to warn consumers that its talc-based products could cause cancer.
Fox, who lived in Birmingham, Alabama, claimed she used Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for feminine hygiene for more than 35 years before being diagnosed three years ago with ovarian cancer. She died in October at age 62.
Jurors found Johnson & Johnson liable for fraud, negligence and conspiracy, the family's lawyers said. Deliberations lasted four hours, following a three-week trial.
Jere Beasley, a lawyer for Fox's family, said Johnson & Johnson "knew as far back as the 1980s of the risk," and yet resorted to "lying to the public, lying to the regulatory agencies." He spoke on a conference call with journalists.
Carol Goodrich, a Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman, said: "We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers, and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial. We sympathize with the plaintiff's family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence."
In October 2013, a federal jury in Sioux Falls, South Dakota found that plaintiff Deane Berg's use of Johnson & Johnson's body powder products was a factor in her developing ovarian cancer. Nevertheless, it awarded no damages, court records show.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (VRX.TO) now owns the Shower to Shower brand but was not a defendant in the Fox case.
The case is Hogans et al v. Johnson & Johnson et al, Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, No. 1422-CC09012.
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Pharmalot, Pharmalittle: J&J to pay $72m in damages, Valeant may restate financial results
Feb 23, 2016 | STAT News
By Ed Silverman
Good morning, everyone, and how are you today? We are just fine, thank you. Although gray skies are enveloping the Pharmalot campus, our spirits remain sunny. After all, as the Morning Mayor taught us: “Every brand new day should be unwrapped like a precious gift.” So go ahead and tug on the ribbon. While you do, we will indulge with another cup of needed stimulation. Meanwhile, here are some items of interest. Hope your day goes well …
Valeant Pharmaceuticals will probably need to restate some of its earlier financial results based on an internal investigation, The Wall Street Journal reports. The potential revisions concern revenue recorded when medicines were shipped to Philidor Rx Services, a mail-order pharmacy during late 2014 and early 2015. The drug maker believes about $58 million of revenue recognized in late 2014 should have instead been booked in 2015.
Johnson & Johnson must pay $72 million in damages to the family of a woman who blamed her fatal ovarian cancer on talcum powder sold by the health care giant, Bloomberg News reports. This was the first state-court case to go to trial over claims that the company knew decades ago that its talc-based products could cause cancer, but, nonetheless, failed to warn consumers.
More than two dozen state and city health directors filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration to label prescription painkillers and sedatives with a black box warning because the combination of the drugs can cause fatal overdoses, STAT tells us. The move comes amid mounting concerns over growing painkiller abuse, which the Centers for Disease Control has called an epidemic.
The US Senate voted overwhelmingly to end debate on whether to confirm Dr. Robert Califf as the next FDA commissioner, setting up a final confirmation vote most likely later this week, BioCentury tells us.
Seven big drug makers — including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, AbbVie, and AstraZeneca — joined a consortium to streamline and accelerate the development of new treatments for Parkinson’s disease, Pharma Times says.
An experimental drug-infused ring that is inserted in the vagina once a month cut the risk of HIV infection by more than half among women who used the device consistently, Reuters reports, citing a new study.
The vaccine to combat human papillomavirus, or HPV, has reduced the prevalence in teenage girls by almost two-thirds, The New York Times writes, citing new research.
An ibuprofen patch capable of delivering the medicine through the skin to the site of pain, and at a consistent dose for up to 24 hours, has been developed by UK researchers, Reuters says.
The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence issued final guidelines recommending Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo as a monotherapy for adult patients with advanced melanoma, Pharma Times reports.
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Jury orders health care giant to pay $72 million in talcum powder cancer case
Feb 23, 2016 | St. Louis Today
By Kim Bell
A St. Louis jury on Monday night awarded $72 million to the family of a woman who claimed her longtime use of baby powder and other Johnson & Johnson products contributed to the ovarian cancer that killed her.
Jacqueline Fox, 62, of Birmingham, Ala., died last October, three years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Her son, Marvin Salter of Jacksonville, Fla., took over as plaintiff after his mother's death. Jurors heard from Fox in an audio deposition recorded shortly before her death.
Fox's suit had claimed her use of talc-containing products, such as Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower body powder for feminine hygiene, contributed to her cancer. Fox used those products for more than 35 years, her suit claimed. The verdict includes $10 million in actual damages and $62 million in punitive damages. The jury found Johnson & Johnson guilty of negligence, conspiracy and fraud, said Jere Beasley, one of the lead attorneys who filed suit.
The trial lasted more than three weeks in St. Louis Circuit Court. Jurors deliberated nearly five hours Monday night before reaching its verdict at about 10:15 p.m.
Johnson & Johnson, a health care giant based in New Brunswick, N.J., is expected to appeal the verdict. In a statement Tuesday morning, the company insisted that its products are safe.
"We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers, and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial," Carol Goodrich, a spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson, said in an email. "We sympathize with the plaintiff’s family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence."
Goodrich said the company would not discuss the case with a reporter. The company in 2011 pledged to remove "chemicals of concern" from its baby products around the world after being pressed to do so for more than three years by a large coalition of health and environmental groups, according to The Associated Press. It said its adult products would be reformulated by the end of 2015.
Beasley said Fox was a single mother who raised foster children. Salter is her only biological son. After her diagnosis with Stage 3 ovarian cancer, Fox contacted lawyers after seeing a television ad about the possible link to talc.
Beasley said his Alabama firm had heard from more than 6,000 potential clients over the years. The case ended up in St. Louis after Beasley and a Mississippi lawyer joined with a St. Louis firm representing several women who also have ovarian cancer. Fox was the first of the plaintiffs of the bunch whose case went to trial. Beasley said more trials will follow here, in state court in April and in federal court in July.
The suit alleged that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn of a possible link between ovarian cancer and talcum powder; the women filing suit claim they would not have used the products if they knew about the risk.
Beasley said, "We were able to prove that approximately 1,500 die each year because of the talc involvement."
Across the country, law firms have filed suits making similar claims, but Beasley said this was the first jury to award damages.
"What Johnson and Johnson did to cover up what it knew to be the deadly risk of its centerpiece product is simply outrageous," Beasley said. He said the company, beginning in the 1970s, had been hearing from scientists of a possible link with cancer. Internal company documents "that were brought to light through this trial show clearly that that is exactly the case."
"The internal documents were devastating to the company," Beasley said.
Talcum powder is made from talc. It is used in baby powder and other products. According to the American Cancer Society's website, "it has been suggested that talcum powder might cause cancer in the ovaries if the powder particles (applied to the genital area or on sanitary napkins, diaphragms, or condoms) were to travel through the vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes to the ovary."
Studies have looked at the possible link, and results have been mixed, the American Cancer Society says. Some studies report a slightly increased risk, the organization says, and some report no increase; the research continues.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 22,280 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year and that about 14,240 women will die from ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women. An epidemiologist who testified for Fox estimated about 10 percent of the women who die have cancers linked to talc. A pathologist found talc in Fox's ovaries, which caused the inflammation which in turn caused her cancer, Beasley said.
Beasley said the jury found against Johnson and Johnson, the holding company; and Johnson and Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc.; but did not find fault with another defendant, the talc producer, Imerys Talc America, Inc.
Beasley said thousands of people have buried a female relative and had no idea of the link between cancer and talcum powder. "This company showed no concern, no remorse, no compassion for these deaths," Beasley said. "They made a financial killing selling talc."
He said there is a safe alternative, corn starch, but the company chose not to use it.
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Family of Alabama woman awarded $72 million over talc powder link to ovarian cancer
Feb 23, 2016 | Birmingham News
By Kent Faulk
A St. Louis jury has ruled that pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has to pay the family of a Tarrant woman $72 million for her claims that the company's talc powder products she used caused her ovarian cancer.
The verdict on Monday was the first case against Johnson & Johnson over the link between talc and ovarian cancer that resulted in damages, Jere Beasley, principal and founder of the Montgomery-based Beasley Allen Law Firm, said in telephone press conference Tuesday morning. A jury in North Dakota found against the company earlier but did not award damages, he said.
Jacqueline Fox, of Tarrant, was among about 60 women who sued Johnson & Johnson after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Fox's case was the first to come to trial among that group of women. The company now faces hundreds of other lawsuits.
After the month-long trial the jury in St. Louis circuit court awarded Fox's family $10 million in actual damages and $62 million in punitive damages. The jury found Johnson & Johnson guilty of negligence, conspiracy and fraud.
Fox, 62, died Oct. 6 before her case came to trial. She had used Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for feminine hygiene for more than 35 years, her lawyers said.
Beasley predicted that cosmetic companies will now put warning labels on their talc products. "This case is a tremendous signal to Johnson & Johnson and all the cosmetic companies," he said.
Johnson & Johnson responded to questions from AL.com regarding the verdict with a short statement.
"We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial. We sympathize with the plaintiff's family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence."
Talc linked to ovarian cancer deaths
Beasley said through experts at the trial they were able to make the link of talc to ovarian cancer.
"We were able to prove statistically that 1,500 women have died every year from the association of talc and ovarian cancer," Beasley said.
Lawyers had "strong internal documents" that showed the company knew for years the risk of its talc products and ovarian cancer as far back as the 1980s, Beasley said. He pointed to one document in 1997 where a paid consultant had warned the company about what studies were showing.
Beasley said they also had documents showing the company was discussing in the early 2000s how to defend potential lawsuits, and about getting a female oncologist to get their message out.
"They are basically self-regulated and they know they can really just about get away with anything."
"The corporate conduct we have seen over the past five years getting ready for this trial is just about as bad as I have seen in any area that I have practiced in," he said.
Ted G. Meadows, a principal with Beasley Allen, in a statement after the verdict agreed with Beasley. "Jacqueline Fox was an incredible lady whose life was cut far too short by the callous decisions by the bosses at Johnson and Johnson," he stated.
"Inside J&J (Johnson & Johnson) folks have known for decades, literally decades, that the talc contained in its products could cause cancer. Instead of warning customers, J&J executives made the deliberate decision to hide the risk and keep on selling. The internal documents tell a horrifying and infuriating story of corporate greed and indifference to human life. We are honored to represent the family of Ms. Fox and to bring to light the misdeeds of this company."
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J&J Must Pay $72 Million in Talc Powder-Ovarian Cancer Case
Feb 23, 2016 | Medscape
By Nick Mulcahy
A St. Louis jury has awarded $72 million to the family of a woman who died of ovarian cancer and said that her long-time use of Johnson & Johnson talc powder products contributed to her cancer. The jury decision is the first financial award in a lawsuit related to this issue.
The state-court jury ordered the giant maker of healthcare products to pay $10 million in compensatory damages and $62 million in a punishment award to the family of Jackie Fox from Birmingham, Alabama.
Fox died in October 2015 at the age of 62, 3 years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Shortly before her death, she recorded an audio deposition, saying she had used Johnson & Johnson talc powder products for 35 years, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The news puts a spotlight again on the association between the use of talc powder in the genital area and an increased risk for ovarian cancer, which has been repeatedly — but not always — found in epidemiologic studies.
However, the only consensus among researchers and organizations such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer on the link is that talc powder is a "possible" carcinogen (Lancet Oncol. 2006;7:295-296).
"This is probably not going to be decided in the court of scientific opinion. It will be decided in the court of legal opinion," Daniel Cramer, MD, ScD, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and a prominent researcher on the subject, told Medscape Medical News last week.
In 1982, Dr Cramer was the lead author of the first study ever to link talc use with ovarian cancer. He has since been involved in multiple studies on the association, the latest of which was published just a few months ago (Epidemiology. Published online December 17, 2015). He also testified at the Johnson & Johnson trial as a paid expert witness.
"I'm still absorbing the news," Dr Cramer said today. "A feeling of vindication is tempered by the realization that thousands of women continued to use talc products and died of ovarian cancer after my first study in 1982."
"You can count on J&J to appeal the verdict, but the scientific case is only going to get stronger," he said.
But not everyone agrees with that assessment.
In a 2014 essay, Robert Coleman, MD, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, made the analogy that talc powder is the "Pluto" of prognostic factors for ovarian cancer.
"When we all grew up, Pluto was a planet (analogy: talc was thought to be a causative risk factor in almost every textbook); then, a few years ago, after better data emerged, Pluto lost its status as planet (analogy: newer and better controlled studies demonstrated that talc exposure is probably not a true risk factor)," he explained to Medscape Medical News in an email.
However, Dr Cramer states that the preponderance of evidence indicates that there is a link between talc use in the genital area and an increased risk for ovarian cancer.
According to an American Cancer Society report, more research is needed, but "if there is an increased risk, the overall increase is likely to very be small."
Karin Roseblatt, PhD, a public health professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who was involved in a case–control study on this subject (Cancer Causes Control. 2011;22:737-742), believes that any risk is "not a very high increased risk."
"I can't say for sure if it is a definite risk," she told Medscape Medical News.
But, according to news reports, the jury in St. Louis found Johnson & Johnson guilty of failing to warn the public and conspiring to keep the truth about the link from the public for decades.
Jury foreperson Krista Smith said that the company's internal documents were "decisive" for jurors, according to a Bloomberg news story.
"It was really clear they were hiding something," said Smith. "All they had to do was put a warning label on."
Johnson & Johnson is reportedly facing about 1200 suits related to Johnson's Baby Powder and its Shower to Shower products.
The Shower to Shower brand talc was marketed for "feminine hygiene" and had used the advertising slogan that "just a sprinkle a day keeps odor away."
Valeant Pharmaceuticals bought the Shower to Shower brand from Johnson & Johnson in 2012, but was not a defendant in the St. Louis case.
Johnson & Johnson does not have a press statement about the jury's verdict on its website. However, spokesperson Carol Goodrich was quoted in a news report as saying: "We sympathize with the plaintiff's family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence."
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Johnson & Johnson Dealt $72 Million Courtroom Loss in Talc-Ovarian Cancer Case
Feb 23, 2016 | Fair Warning Report
By Myron Levin
Johnson & Johnson has suffered a major courtroom defeat in the first in a wave of lawsuits claiming that talc products marketed by the company for feminine hygiene use caused ovarian cancer.
A jury in St. Louis late Monday night ordered the health care products giant to pay $72 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the family of Jacqueline Fox of Birmingham, Ala. She died of ovarian cancer in October at the age of 62 after years of using the company’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for feminine hygiene.
By a 10-2 vote, jurors found Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc., guilty of negligence, failure to warn and conspiracy to conceal the risks of its products. Jurors awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and tacked on $62 million in punitive damages. The panel absolved the company’s talc supplier, Imerys Talc America Inc., on the identical claims.
The three-week trial in a Missouri state court in St. Louis was the first of about 1,200 ovarian cancer claims filed in the last two years against J&J and Imerys. About 1,000 of the claims are in state and federal courts in the St. Louis area, while another 200 are pending in J&J’s home state of New Jersey. Several more trials are expected later this year.
The verdict sends a “tremendous signal to J&J and all of the cosmetic companies,” said Jere Beasley, one of the Fox lawyers. “They’re basically self-regulated and they know they can just basically get away with anything.”
In an interview with FairWarning, Fox’s son, Marvin Salter, said, “Obviously, the final outcome is something that my mother wanted.” He said, “It really wasn’t about the damages that were awarded,” but creating “awareness around this issue that has been suppressed for so many years by Johnson & Johnson.”
Salter, a mortgage banker in Jacksonville, Fla., described his mother as “one of the kindest, most positive persons you could meet, even during her fight with this disease. … She put others ahead of her needs in many situations, because that’s the type of person she was.”
Carol Goodrich, spokeswoman for J&J, said in a prepared statement: “We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers, and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial. We sympathize with the plaintiff’s family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence.” J&J is expected to seek reversal of the verdict or a reduction in damages through post-trial motions and an appeal.
J&J and Imerys argued that there is no convincing evidence that talc is a general cause of ovarian cancer, or that it specifically caused Fox’s cancer. They contended that since there is no causal connection, there was no reason to warn of the risks.
About 20,000 U.S. women annually are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and more than 14,000 die. The disease strikes about one woman in 70. Studies showing a higher rate of ovarian cancer with talc use for genital hygiene have typically found an increased risk of about 35 percent—which would put the odds of getting the disease at about one in 50.
Use of talc powders has been a daily ritual for many women. Johnson & Johnson marketed Shower to Shower with ads that said: “A sprinkle a day keeps odor away…Your body perspires in more places than just under your arms.” In October 2012, for reasons neither company would discuss, J&J sold North American marketing rights for Shower to Shower to Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
As reported by FairWarning, the wave of talc lawsuits were triggered by a mystifying verdict in October 2013 in a case against J&J. A federal court jury in Sioux Falls, S.D., found the company guilty of failure to warn of the risk of ovarian cancer from genital use of its talc products, but awarded zero damages to the plaintiff, Deane Berg. The jury foreperson told FairWarning that the panel wasn’t convinced that talc use caused Berg’s cancer, but believed J&J should have put “something on the product to alert the consumers of the possible injury and the possible risk.”
shower-to-showerThe case brought a slow-building controversy to a head. Plaintiff lawyers, heartened by a liability finding in arch-conservative South Dakota, began churning out the current wave of ovarian cancer claims.
Talc, the softest of minerals, has a multitude of industrial and consumer product uses, including in the manufacture of paints, paper, rubber, roofing and ceramic materials, and even as a food additive, a filler in capsules and pills and in cosmetics.
Suspicions about talc and ovarian cancer go back decades. In 1971, British researchers analyzed 13 ovarian tumors under a microscope and found talc particles “deeply embedded’’ in 10.
In 1982, the journal Cancer published the first study showing a statistical link between genital talc use and ovarian cancer. The lead author, Dr. Daniel Cramer, a gynecologist and Harvard Medical School professor, recently co-authored a new study that found a 33 percent higher rate of ovarian cancer among women who used talc for feminine hygiene.
The highest risk was for women who used talc powder the longest. Altogether, about 20 epidemiological studies have found increased rates of ovarian cancer risk for women who reported using talc for hygiene purposes, though other studies have found no association.
At various times over the years, health advocates have called on makers of talc products to warn against using the products for genital hygiene. “Balanced against what are primarily aesthetic reasons for using talc in genital hygiene, the risk benefit decision is not complex,” said one 1999 study. “Appropriate warnings should be provided to women about the potential risks of regular use of talc in the genital area.”
Jurors were shown a 1997 letter in which a J&J consultant attacked statements that there was no statistical association between talc use and ovarian cancer. “Anybody who denies this risks that the talc industry will be perceived by the public like it perceives the cigarette industry: denying the obvious in the face of all evidence to the contrary. This would be a particularly tragic misperception in view of the fact that the industry does have powerful, valid arguments to support its position.’’
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J&J Slammed With $72M Verdict In Talc Cancer Case
Feb 23, 2016 | Law360
By Joe Van Acker
A jury in St. Louis awarded $72 million late Monday to the estate of a woman who died of ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson’s body powder for decades, reportedly the first time the company has been ordered to pay damages over the link between cancer and the talc used in its products.
After about five hours of deliberation, the jury found against J&J and a subsidiary on all counts, including negligence, conspiracy and failure to warn, piling a total of $62 million in punitive damages onto the $10 million it awarded to the estate of Jacqueline Fox, who died last October.
Jere L. Beasley, an attorney for Fox, told reporters on Tuesday that the verdict was a “tremendous signal” to J&J, which he said has known since the 1980s that talc in baby powder and similar products can cause cancer, but elected to conceal that information and continues to refuse to warn consumers.
“What Johnson and Johnson did to cover up what it knew to be the deadly risk of its centerpiece product is simply outrageous,” Beasley said in a statement. “It is hard to imagine how corporate executives could be so callous.
Fox was one of dozens of women whose claims were consolidated in a complaint filed against J&J in the Circuit Court of St. Louis in June 2014, and her claims were the first selected to go to trial, according to her estate’s attorneys.
She and the others said that studies have linked talc to ovarian cancer as early as 1971, and that subsequent research into that link led condom manufacturers to stop dusting their products with talc in the mid-1990s.
J&J knew about these studies and others, but actively worked to keep them under wraps and disseminated outdated or misleading information to deceive the public, according to their complaint.
Beasley said that the most damning evidence against J&J and its subsidiary, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc., came in the form of internal documents, including a consultant’s dire warning to the Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association, now known as the Personal Care Products Council.
In 1997, the consultant told the organization — which counts J&J as a member — that it had made "inaccurate," "questionable" and "outright false" statements about the risk of long-term exposure to talc, and warned that those statements left the PCPC “wide open to counter-attack.”
However, J&J steadfastly refused to provide any warnings, according to Beasley, who said the company’s conduct was the worst he had ever seen, stating that 1,500 women die every year from ovarian cancer caused by talc.
Beasley also said that the company’s conduct was particularly galling because it targeted African American and Hispanic women, and knew all along that cornstarch was a perfectly safe alternative.
The women also accused Imerys Talc America Inc. of being complicit in the scheme, but the jury found in that company’s favor on all counts.
J&J said in a statement on Tuesday that it was “disappointed” with the verdict.
“We sympathize with the plaintiff’s family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence,” the company said.
Previously, a South Dakota federal jury found that the company had been negligent in a similar suit in 2013, but awarded no damages in that case.
Beasley said Tuesday that the next trial in this case is scheduled for April.
Fox’s estate is represented by Jere L. Beasley, Ted G. Meadows, David P. Dearing and Danielle Ward Mason of Beasley Allen Law Firm; Stephanie Rados, James G. Onder, Michael J. Quillin and W. Wylie Blair of Onder Shelton O’Leary & Peterson LLC; R. Allen Smith Jr., of The Smith Law Firm; Timothy W. Porter, Patrick C. Malouf and John T. Givens of Porter & Malouf PA.
Counsel information for J&J was not available.
The case is Tiffany Hogans et al v. Johnson & Johnson et al, case no. 1422-CC09012 in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis in Missouri.
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Woman Who Used J&J Products Awarded $72M
Feb 23, 2016 | Courthouse News Service
By Joe Harris
An Alabama woman's family was awarded $72 million by a city jury Monday night on her claims that she developed ovarian cancer through the longtime use of Johnson & Johnson baby powder and other talc-based products.
Jacqueline Fox, 62, of Birmingham, Ala., died last October from the cancer. Her son took over as plaintiff after her death and jurors heard from Fox in an audio deposition recorded before her death.
Fox claimed she used the Johnson & Johnson products for feminine hygiene purposes for 35 years. Fox's lawsuit is one of many from across the country alleging that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn of a possible link between ovarian cancer and talcum powder.
A St. Louis jury deliberated for nearly five hours Monday after a three-week trial. It found Johnson & Johnson guilty of negligence, conspiracy and fraud, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The verdict includes $10 million in actual damages and $62 million in punitive damages.
Johnson & Johnson, based in New Brunswick, N.J., is expected to appeal the verdict.
"We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers, and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial," Carol Goodrich, a spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson, said in an email to the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday morning. "We sympathize with the plaintiff's family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence."
Jere Beasley, Fox's lawyer, told the Post-Dispatch that his Alabama firm had heard from more than 6,000 potential clients over the years. The case ended up in St. Louis after Beasley and a Mississippi lawyer joined with a St. Louis firm representing several women who also have ovarian cancer.
Fox was the first of the plaintiffs whose case went to trial, according to the Post-Dispatch.
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Johnson & Johnson must pay £51 million in suit claiming Baby Powder led to ovarian cancer
Feb 23, 2016 | Telegraph
By Sarah Knapton, and David Lawler
The pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $72 million (£51 million) to the family of a woman who claimed her ovarian cancer was caused by talcum powder.
A jury in St Louis, Missouri, said the company had failed to warn users of the potential dangers despite concerns raised by the American Cancer Society in 1999.
Although many talcum powder manufacturers in the US have since switched to corn starch following the scare in the 90s, in Britain most still use talcum.
However the ruling is likely to prove controversial because most cancer experts believe the link is unproven and law experts said British claimants would face a higher bar in trying to convince a UK judge that talcum was a direct cause of cancer.
Johnson & Johnson is currently facing 1,200 lawsuits in the US from customers who claim they were not warned about the risks.
Mrs Fox claimed she used two of the company's talc-based products - Baby Powder and Shower to Shower – as feminine hygiene produces for more than 35 years before being diagnosed three years ago with ovarian cancer. She died last year of ovarian cancer.
Johnson & Johnson was ordered pay the family of Jackie Fox $10 million in compensation and $62 million as a punitive award.
Speaking after the hearing Krista Smith, the jury foreman, said she felt that Johnson & Johnson - the world's largest health products manufacturer - had been disingenuous.
“It was really clear they were hiding something,” she said. “All they had to do was put a warning label on.”
Allen Smith, an attorney for the family, told the jury that the company would "not change their behaviour until good people like you act".
Mr Smith said the verdict had been warranted "given the horrible conduct of Johnson & Johnson.”
Before the 1970s, talcum powder was often contaminated with asbestos fibres which are known to cause cancer. But since then, all home products containing talcum powder are legally obliged to be asbestos-free.
Some scientists have suggested that talc particles could travel to the ovaries, irritate them and cause inflammation. Low-level, long-term inflammation may increase the risk of some types of cancer.
However there is little evidence to support the hypothesis and studies looking into whether anti-inflammatory drugs could prevent cancer have shown they are ineffective.
Most studies suggesting a connection were found to be flawed and often relied on people recalling use of talcum powder many years previously. The only large cohort study found there was no link to ovarian cancer.
Cancer Research UK states on its website: “If something truly causes cancer, you would expect people who are exposed to more of that thing to have a higher risk.
“For example, the more you smoke, the higher your risk of lung cancer. But the majority of the studies have not found a similar relationship for talc use and ovarian cancer.”
The ovarian cancer charity Ovacome also said: “The evidence for a link is weak, but even if talc does increase the risk of ovarian cancer studies suggest it would be by around a third.
“This is a modest increase in risk and ovarian cancer is a relatively rare disease. Increasing a small risk by a third still gives a small risk.”
Law experts in Britain warned that if the company was prosecuted in Britain, a judge, not a jury, would need to be convinced that there was enough scientific evidence to support the claim.
Roderick Bagshaw, Associate Professor of Law said: “Whether we will see claims against baby powder producers in England is likely to depend to a great extent on the nature of the scientific evidence that supports the proposition that such powder causes cancer.
“In England such cases would involve having to convince a judge, rather than having to convince a jury, and the judge would have to be convinced not just that powder can cause cancer but also that a particular claimant's cancer was caused (or contributed to) by the powder.
“A problem claimants frequently face is that if their cancer could have been caused by many different things then it is hard to show that one of them made a difference.”
Carol Goodrich, a spokesman for Johnson & Johnson, issued a statement expressing disappointment in the outcome but insisting that the products are safe.
“We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial,” the statement reads. “We sympathise with the plaintiff’s family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence."
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J&J To Pay $72m Over Talc-Linked Cancer Death
Feb 23, 2016 | Sky News
A jury in Missouri awarded $10m of actual damages and $62m of punitive damages to the family of Jacqueline Fox, her family's lawyers said.
In a statement, Johnson & Johnson said: "We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial.
"We sympathize with the plaintiff's family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence."
The lawsuit alleged the health products firm actively covered up studies that suggested a link between ovarian cancer and their baby powder in order to boost sales.
Several hundred similar lawsuits have been filed against Johnson & Johnson, but Monday's verdict in St Louis was the first in the US to award damages over the claims.
In 2013, a federal jury in South Dakota found that a woman's use of Johnson & Johnson's body powder products was a factor in her developing ovarian cancer, but jurors did not award damages in the case.
Ms Fox, of Alabama, claimed she used Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for more than 30 years before she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer three years ago.
She died in October at age 62.
Jurors in St Louis deliberated for four hours on Monday before finding Johnson & Johnson liable for fraud, negligence and conspiracy, the family's lawyers said.
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Feb 23, 2016 | Sky News
Please find the thirty second segment from Sky News below.
Clip can be viewed here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/21260173?token=69a14d2a-0cda-4643-b156-e89279b5f2f2
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Feb 23, 2016 | Sky News
View full clip here: http://beta.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/21260335?token=73d6d9e6-f77b-40d1-a2b0-7d7dc81d05fe
Rough Transcript: the pharmaceutical giant johnson and johnson has been ordered to pay 51 million pounds to the family of a woman who claimed she got ovarian cancer as a result of using their talcum powder. a court in missouri heard that jackie fox used two of the company's talcs, baby powder and shower to shower, for more than 35 years, before being diagnosed with the disease
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WGN Midday News (Chicago, IL) Video Clip
| WGN Chicago, IL
Please find a video clip and rough transcript from WGN Chicago below:
http://beta.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/21257049?token=73d6d9e6-f77b-40d1-a2b0-7d7dc81d05fe
Rough Transcript: A jury in missouri has ordered johnson and johnson to pay 72-million dollars to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer. Her illness linked to her use of Johnson and johnson's talc- based baby powder. jurors awarded the million10- actual of damages and 62- punitive damages. the company faces hundred lawsuits claiming johnson and johnson failed for decades to warn customers that its talc-based products could cause cancer.
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Feb 23, 2016 | KPLR
Clip can be viewed here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/21259668?token=69a14d2a-0cda-4643-b156-e89279b5f2f2
Rough Transcript: St. Louis family is awarded seventy two million dollars in a lawsuit for mother who died of ovarian cancer it all centers around johnson and johnson talcum powder use his eleven stand gray spoke with the 5:36 PMtums family today about the decision and what this means to batten down christine we are outside the on her law firm and webster groves it was one of three law firms across the country that have handled thousands of complaints against johnson and johnson a jack woman box of birmingham alabama joined the lawsuit here and the saint louis circuit court jury returned the verdict last night a during the three week trial the plaintiffs lawyers presented evidence and medical testimony that jacquelyn fox's ovarian cancer was linked to johnson and johnson's talcum powder she died last year at age sixty two the jury ordered johnson and johnson to pay her family seventy two million dollars at a news conference boxes sunset the lawsuit was never about money he said his mother just use johnson and johnson talcum powder and other products every day but she wanted to make sure other women were warned about the danger even to our deposition she said the reason 5:37 PMshe was going to solve that . ... he's a . so that no other woman had to suffer the way she did so are . ... oh five was for not just are . ... so we will . the plaintiffs' lawyer jim hunter said he has already heard that johnson and johnson and johnson attorneys for the company will indeed appeal of the johnson and johnson spokesperson said quote we have no higher responsibility of the health and safety of our consumers and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial we sympathize with the plaintiff's family but firmly believe in the safety of the cosmetics helped and it's been reported . supported by decades of scientific evidence but there will be an appeal by johnson and johnson and beyond the wall for this . confident that they will be victorious in appeals as well.
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Feb 23, 2016 | KTVI-Fox
Clip can be viewed here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/21260276?token=db41ff34-ad70-4c40-8cfd-06445bfa5a16
Rough Transcript: st. louis family is awarded $72 million and a lawsuit a mother who died of ovarian cancer. it also has around on johns fox to dan gray talk to the victims family today but the decision and what this to them. we outside that law firm at webster grove this law firm one of three law firms in the country has been handling thousands of complaints against the company johnson and johnson the family of jacko and fox a birmingham alabama decided to join this lawsuit here in st. louis in the st. louis circuit jury returned a verdict last night. the doing with the three-week trial. 6:32 PMevidence of . she died in october of last year she was 62 jury ordered to pay her family $72 million at her news conference at the other law firm today fox his son's is a lawsuit about money's mother use the johnson & johnson product every day she wanted to make sure other women we're worried about the danger. that does not cause of very young cancer it's been known by over 30 years by the industry they hit in the truth. i guess lawyer jim on or said he's already been notified by lawyers for johnson and johnson but the company will appe verdict
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