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Talc 5/19
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Consumer brands, medical devices poised for growth: J&J CEO
May 18, 2016 | CNBC
By Tom DiChristopher
Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky said Wednesday the company's consumer brands and medical devices businesses are poised for growth following years of efforts to turn around the units. -
Johnson & Johnson Loses $55M Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuit
May 18, 2016 | Lawyers and Settlements.com
By Heidi Turner
As Johnson & Johnson is ordered to pay $55 million in a talcum powder side effects lawsuit, more lawsuits are being filed alleging certain talcum powders are actually dangerous products linked to ovarian cancer. -
Our Big Fat Ticketmaster settlement: $2.25 per ticket
May 18, 2016 | Argus Leader
By John Hult
...This issue came up a few weeks back, when jurors awarded damages to the second plaintiff in less than a year accusing Johnson & Johnson of negligence over talcum powder. -
Most Active Drug Makers- Pfizer Inc. , Johnson & Johnson
May 18, 2016 | Seneca Globe
...ohnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) [Trend Analysis] pretends to be active mover, stock inched down about -0.53% to traded at $113.83. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported that it will keep arguing in court that its talc-based powders are safe, an outside lawyer who has defended the firm in court cases stated, even following losing two multimillion-dollar verdicts to plaintiffs who claimed that J&J Baby Powder and Shower to Shower caused ovarian cancer. -
Talc-Based Powder Plaintiffs Insist Destructive Testing of Tissue Samples is Warranted
May 18, 2016 | Harris Martin Publishing
Plaintiffs with talc-based powder claims pending in New Jersey federal court have backed their original efforts to test tissue samples, saying that “the testing of the small amount of tissue in the plaintiff’s possession is reasonable, necessary and relevant” to the underlying case.
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Consumer brands, medical devices poised for growth: J&J CEO
May 18, 2016 | CNBC
By Tom DiChristopher
Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky said Wednesday the company's consumer brands and medical devices businesses are poised for growth following years of efforts to turn around the units.
Shares of Johnson & Johnson are trading near an all-time high, largely on the strength of J&J's pharmaceutical business, the largest of its three segments.
In January, Johnson & Johnson said it would cut about 3,000 jobs within its medical devices unit over the next two years, or about 4 to 6 percent of the struggling division's global workforce, to generate annual cost savings of up to $1 billion and focus on more innovative products.
Gorsky said Wednesday the company is eyeing growth after a period of divestment in the unit.
"We've been taking a hard look at our portfolio, because while we're very excited about the investments that we've been making in the future in certain areas, we realize that in other areas, frankly we needed to be more effective, more efficient," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box"ahead of the company's analyst meeting.
Gorsky said he believes Johnson & Johnson has "great" platforms for orthopedics and surgery products and an emerging cardiovascular business.
Earlier this month, BTIG downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnsonfrom "buy" to "neutral" due to decreased confidence that it will be able to execute a large, money-making acquisition of a heart disease device company, analyst Dane Leone wrote in a research note.
Gorsky said Johnson & Johnson will continue to fight an order by a U.S. jury to pay $55 million to a woman who said that using the company's talc-powder products for feminine hygiene caused her to develop ovarian cancer.
He added that he was disappointed in recent talc verdict findings, saying he thought they were inconsistent with established research
Johnson & Johnson is seeking to apply the adverse event and reporting procedures it uses in its pharmaceutical unit to its consumer and medical device businesses to assure the company identifies issues early on and better manage them, Gorsky said.
Johnson & Johnson's consumer brands include Band-Aid, Tylenol and Listerine.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/18/consumer-brands-medical-devices-poised-for-growth-jj-ceo.html
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Johnson & Johnson Loses $55M Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuit
May 18, 2016 | Lawyers and Settlements.com
By Heidi Turner
As Johnson & Johnson is ordered to pay $55 million in a talcum powder side effects lawsuit, more lawsuits are being filed alleging certain talcum powders are actually dangerous products linked to ovarian cancer. The $55 million award is the second large award handed out in Johnson & Johnson talcum powder lawsuits in recent months.
In February, a jury awarded $75 million to the family of Jacqueline Fox, who allegedly developed ovarian cancer after using talcum powder for more than 35 years. Fox died at age 52 of ovarian cancer, before the lawsuit was completed. During the lawsuit, her attorneys alleged Johnson & Johnson knew its talcum powder was linked to ovarian cancer but failed to warn consumers about the risks. A jury agreed with Fox’s family, finding Johnson & Johnson liable for conspiracy, failure to warn and negligence.
Among the award were $10 million in compensatory damages and $62 million in punitive damages. Johnson & Johnson has indicated it will appeal the jury’s decision.
In May, a jury in St. Louis ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $55 million to Gloria Ristesund, who blamed her ovarian cancer on years of talcum powder use. That award included $5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages. Reports indicate Johnson & Johnson will appeal this award, as well.
Although Johnson & Johnson has said there is no link between the use of talcum powder and ovarian cancer, attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that studies have shown since the 1970s that talcum powder could be linked to ovarian cancer. Further, they alleged, internal documents suggest Johnson & Johnson was aware of the studies but failed to act on them.According to Bloomberg (3/21/16), more than 1,000 plaintiffs have filed claims against Johnson & Johnson, alleging the company knew about the risks associated with using talcum powder, putting their health at risk. Seventeen plaintiffs from New Mexico recently filed claims regarding their use of talcum powder. The Albuquerque Journal(5/16/16) reports that 15 of those plaintiffs are women alleging they developed ovarian cancer after using talcum powder. The other two claims are from the estates of two women who died from ovarian cancer.
Although Johnson & Johnson says the science does not back claims that talcum powder is linked to ovarian cancer, the International Agency for Research on Cancer isn’t so sure. “Perineal use of talc-based body powder is possibly carcinogenic to humans, the agency concluded in a 2010 report on carcinogenic risks.
While the science might not be clear, women who used talcum powder and developed ovarian cancer are now filing lawsuits, saying they should have been warned about the potential risk.https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/talcum-powder-ovarian-cancer-risk-defective-products/talcum-powder-ovarian-cancer-risk-defective-products-21483.html
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Our Big Fat Ticketmaster settlement: $2.25 per ticket
May 18, 2016 | Argus Leader
By John Hult
I got an email Tuesday afternoon with some good news: I was a winner.
There’s a decent chance you are, too.
The “win” was a settlement in a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster, and it’s a pretty wide class. It includes anyone who bought a ticket for a show through the mega-dealer’s website between Oct. 21, 1999 and Feb. 27, 2013.
That’s the good news: Any purchase during that nearly 14-year period is eligible for a chunk of the $386 million payout for specious fees like “order processing.” Nationwide, that’s about 50 million people.
The bad news? For most people, the “win” is worth one $2.25 “discount code” for each transaction during the relevant time frame. There’s a good chance you’ll need to spend money to get that money, as the number of codes per person maxes out at 17.
The codes should start appearing in your Ticketmaster account around June 18, and they’ll be good for four years.
If you had your pre-2013 tickets delivered by UPS, you could get $5 per transaction off a future UPS charge. So there’s that.
Also: If the settlement pays out less than $10.5 million a year, tickets will be released to make up the difference.
If you haven’t gotten the email yet with the details, keep an eye out. The lawsuit, commenced in 2003, is called Schlesinger vs. Ticketmaster. If you’re looking for more information, visit the settlement website at ticketfeelitigation.com/.
I'm not balking at the free money, but settlements like this are part of the reason class action lawsuits don’t have the greatest reputation.
It’s hard not to sympathize with people who ask “what good will it do me to get involved in something like that?” when the return is so small. The original class members in the Ticketmaster case got $39,500, but that’s after more than a decade of litigation.
Class action suits also catch criticism from the companies and industries who face them, who see them as vehicles for half-baked claims that nevertheless are easier to settle to the benefit of (mostly) the lawyers who bring them.
This issue came up a few weeks back, when jurors awarded damages to the second plaintiff in less than a year accusing Johnson & Johnson of negligence over talcum powder. The women involved in those cases claim the company failed to warn them that use of talc-based body powders could increase the risk of ovarian cancer (a claim the company denies).
One of the lawyers representing the talc accusers, Jim Onder of St. Louis, explained that the plaintiffs decided against a class action. Instead of consolidating the cases into a class and shooting down the chances of a settlement large enough to cover the medical bills of the families affected, the lawyers opted for a “mass tort” which here means trying each case, one by one.
Lawyers in a mass tort consolidate the cases for the purposes of questioning the company, but separate them for trial. Things have gone well so far for the talc plaintiffs: The last two jury trials brought awards of $72 million and $55 million, respectively.
The Ticketmaster case isn’t anywhere near comparable to the talc tort in terms of severity, but yesterday’s email was a pretty clear illustration of Onder’s point: Individual plaintiffs are sometimes better off sidestepping class action.
Have you gotten your Ticketmaster settlement email? Have you gotten a settlement you weren’t aware of before? What was your experience? Let me know your thoughts. You can call, email, or hit me up at the next big show.
If you bought a lot of tickets online in the early 2000s, you might even get a free ticket out of the deal.
I hear a lot of you are pretty excited about the “I Love the 90s” tour …
http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2016/05/18/our-big-fat-ticketmaster-settlement-225-per-ticket/84552606/
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Most Active Drug Makers- Pfizer Inc. , Johnson & Johnson
May 18, 2016 | Seneca Globe
Tuesday bloom on Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) [Trend Analysis], stock collapsed about -1.05% in early session as its gaining volume of 31.47 Million. Over 20 U.S. states that use a combination of drugs to carry out lethal injections will find it harder to conduct executions because of Pfizer’s ban on sales of its chemicals, but the move will have little impact on the handful that rely on a single drug. The pharmaceutical giant’s move last week cuts off the last major U.S. source for drugs in the deadly mixes, and it adds to the difficulties of states that were already struggling to procure chemicals for lethal injections.
Amid states affected are Florida and Oklahoma, which have been amid the leaders in executions since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Drug scarcity is also an obstacle for Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming.
The stock showed weekly upbeat performance of -1.40%, which maintained for the month at 2.19%. Likewise the positive performance for the quarter recorded as 12.47% and for the year was 0.64%, while the YTD performance remained at 4.28%. PFE has Average True Range for 14 days of 0.48.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) [Trend Analysis] pretends to be active mover, stock inched down about -0.53% to traded at $113.83. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported that it will keep arguing in court that its talc-based powders are safe, an outside lawyer who has defended the firm in court cases stated, even following losing two multimillion-dollar verdicts to plaintiffs who claimed that J&J Baby Powder and Shower to Shower caused ovarian cancer.
Gene Williams blamed those verdicts on confusion created by plaintiffs’ lawyers at the trial. The Houston-based lawyer insisted in a recent interview that there “is no proven linkage among talc and ovarian cancer, and the vast majority of scientific and regulatory bodies, who have reviewed the same studies the plaintiffs point to, do not accept the premise.”
The liquidity measure in recent quarter results of the firm was recorded 2.80 as current ratio, on the other side the debt to equity ratio was 0.32, and long-term debt to equity ratio remained 0.32. The Firm has gross margin of 69.20% and profit margin was positive 21.90% in trailing twelve months. (Read Recent [Free Analytic] Facts on NYSE:JNJ and Be Updated)
To accommodate long-term intention, the firm has diverse dividend or yield record, JNJ has Dividend Yield of 2.81% and experts calculate Return on Investment of 16.90%. The firm has Profit Margin of positive 21.90%.
http://www.senecaglobe.com/active-drug-makers-pfizer-inc-nysepfe-johnson-johnson-nysejnj/324966/
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Talc-Based Powder Plaintiffs Insist Destructive Testing of Tissue Samples is Warranted
May 18, 2016 | Harris Martin Publishing
Plaintiffs with talc-based powder claims pending in New Jersey federal court have backed their original efforts to test tissue samples, saying that “the testing of the small amount of tissue in the plaintiff’s possession is reasonable, necessary and relevant” to the underlying case.
In a letter filed on May 16 with the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the plaintiffs said that testing of the tissue is necessary since they anticipate that one of the defense arguments at trial will be that talc cannot reach the ovaries.
Plaintiff James Chakalos asserted the claims ...
For full story: http://harrismartin.com/article/20831/talc-based-powder-plaintiffs-insist-destructive-testing-of-tissue-samples-is-warranted/
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