Johnson & Johnson is offering up to $8.9 billion to settle allegations that its baby powder causes cancer.

The proposed agreement would be paid over the next 25 years “to resolve all the current and future talc claims,” Johnson & Johnson said.

More than 60,000 alleged victims filed claims that they developed ovarian cancer from the product. The company’s talcum-based baby powder ceased production in the U.S. in 2020 and is set to soon be permanently removed from shelves.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, Talc is a naturally occurring mineral used in cosmetics and other personal care products, including baby powder and blush.

The New Jersey-based company will return the iconic product back to markets after fixing the formula, saying they plan to replace talcum with cornstarch.

LTL Management, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary filed for bankruptcy for a second time on Tuesday — this financial strategy is one the company said could “equitably and efficiently resolve all claims arising from cosmetic talc litigation” in the U.S., according to a regulatory filing.

The developments come years after an appeals court vacated a $72 million award to a woman who alleged that Johnson & Johnson’s talcum products contributed to her ovarian cancer.

The decision by the Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals determined that the case was filed in the wrong jurisdiction, raising questions about awards in similar cases.

Jacqueline Fox, 62, of Birmingham, Alabama, who died in 2015, alleged that the baby powder she used for feminine hygiene for about 25 years contributed to her cancer.

She died four months before her case went to trial in St. Louis Circuit Court, but a jury awarded the family $10 million in damages and $62 million in punitive damages, representing the first award in the procession of lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson.

But the appeals court ruled two years later that Missouri was not the correct jurisdiction for the suit, citing a Supreme Court ruling in June that set limits on jurisdictions for injury lawsuits. The Supreme Court determined that courts cannot hear claims “against companies not based in the state where alleged injuries occurred,” the Associated Press wrote.

SEE ALSO:

St. Louis Jury Orders Johnson & Johnson To Pay Woman’s Family $72M In Baby Powder Cancer Death

Research Linking Cancer To Hair Products Ignores Societal Pressure On Black Women To Use Chemicals

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