Johnson and Johnson which had headquarters in Portsmouth facing thousands of cancer claims over talc
A pharmaceutical giant which had its UK headquarters in Portsmouth is facing legal action from thousands of people accusing the firm of knowingly selling talcum powder contaminated with asbestos.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is facing claims from more than 3,000 people who allege they or a family member developed forms of ovarian cancer or mesothelioma from using baby powder between 1965 and 2023.
A lawsuit has been filed by KP Law at the High Court in London seeking damages against J&J and Kenvue UK, which was split from the former in 2023 and now operates as a separate business.
The lawsuit alleges J&J's product was contaminated with carcinogenic fibres, including asbestos, and the firm concealed the risk to the public for decades. Talc is a naturally occurring mineral which is mined.
J&J stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the US in 2020, switching to a cornstarch product. It did the same globally in 2023. Kenvue said in a statement that J&J baby powder "did not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer".
J&J had a significant presence in Portsmouth, with its former UK headquarters located at a large site on Southampton Road, Cosham, that has since been redeveloped into the Harbour Gate business and retail park. Pall Corporation now occupies the site.
The site was known as “the Johnson and Johnson Roundabout” before it was transformed into the major traffic light-controlled junction it remains today.
Michael Rawlinson KC, who is representing the claimants, said "there exist very few, if any, commercially exploited talc deposits in the world which do not contain asbestos".
But Mr Rawlinson claimed the company "suppressed information that might indicate that baby powder was contaminated with asbestos", "lobbied regulators" to enable the continued sale of its product, and sponsored studies to "downplay the dangers" to human health.
J&J is separately facing tens of thousands of lawsuits in America, where claimants allege they were diagnosed with cancer after using baby powder and other talc products.