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J&J loses ovarian cancer case and has been ordered to pay US$ 417 million

This undated photo provided by Robinson Calcagnie, Inc., shows Eva Echevarria. A Los Angeles jury on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record $417 million to Echevarria (Pic AP

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay US$417m to a woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after using products such as baby powder. The California jury's decision marks the largest award yet in a string of lawsuits that claim the firm did not adequately warn about cancer risks from talc-based products.

 A spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson defended the products' safety. The firm plans to appeal, as it has in previous cases.

“We will appeal today's verdict because we are guided by the science,” Carol Goodrich, spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc, said in a statement.

The evidence around any link between talc use and cancer is inconclusive.

Johnson & Johnson, headquartered in New Jersey, faces thousands of claims from women who say they developed cancer due to using the firm's products to address concerns about vaginal odor and moisture.

Johnson & Johnson has lost four of five previous cases tried before juries in Missouri, which have led to more than US$300m in penalties.

The California lawsuit was brought by Eva Echeverria, a 63-year-old woman who said she started using baby powder when she was 11 years old. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 10 years ago; the diagnosis is terminal, according to lawyers working on the case.

The lawsuit alleged that the company was aware of cancer risk associated with talcum powder, but concealed that information from the public. The verdict included US$ 70m in compensatory damages and US$ 347m in punitive damages.

There have been concerns for years that using talcum powder, particularly on the genitals, may increase the risk of ovarian cancer. But the evidence is not conclusive. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies talc used on the genitals as “possibly carcinogenic” because of the mixed evidence.

The charity Ovacame says there is no definitive evidence and that the worst-case scenario is that using talc increases the risk of cancer by a third. But it adds: “Ovarian cancer is a rare disease, and increasing a small risk by a third still gives a small risk. So even if talc does increase the risk slightly, very few women who use talc will ever get ovarian cancer.”