J&J makes headway in settling talc baby powder litigation: reports

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has reportedly made headway in its long-running battle to settle thousands of lawsuits filed over the safety of its talc-based baby powder.

According to a Bloomberg report, over 75% of the claimants have voted in favor of a proposed settlement by secret ballot. The settlement would pay $6.5B over 25 years to resolve current and future claims that the product caused gynecological cancers such as ovarian cancer.

J&J has already paid around $5B to resolve allegations that the product was improperly marketed and caused cancers such as mesothelioma. The company has cautioned that it may face thousands more claims in the future, Bloomberg said.

J&J moved the talc baby powder assets into a subsidiary called LTL Management in an effort to shield the parent company from liability. J&J has twice sought to file Chapter 11 for the subsidiary as a way to push the plaintiffs into a group settlement, but has been rebuffed by the courts, according to Reuters.

The 75% vote in favor of the settlement would allow J&J to seek an expedited Chapter 11 filing for the unit, according to the reports.