Around 3,000 people are seeking compensation totaling more than £1 billion (€1.15 billion) from the American pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, DW reports. According to the lawsuit, J&J’s baby powder allegedly contained talc contaminated with carcinogenic asbestos, the law firm KP Law — representing the plaintiffs — has stated. The claimants argue that they or their relatives developed cancer, particularly ovarian cancer, as a result of using the powder.

The lawsuit alleges that J&J had known for more than 50 years that its product contained asbestos yet continued to sell it “in pursuit of profit.” The baby powder was withdrawn from the U.S. market in 2020, and three years later in the United Kingdom. In addition, in July 2024, the World Health Organization classified talc itself — the main ingredient in most baby powders — as a probable carcinogen.

The company, however, maintains that J&J’s baby powder “has been tested for many years by leading independent laboratories, universities, and health authorities in the UK and worldwide,” and that it “meets all required standards, contains no asbestos, and is not carcinogenic.”

In April, Johnson & Johnson offered to pay about $8 billion in the United States to settle roughly 90,000 civil lawsuits without admitting liability, but U.S. courts rejected the proposal.