Johnson & Johnson may have lied to the public about the possible cancer risks of its baby powder, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Johnson & Johnson has repeatedly said that its talcum powder products don't contain asbestos or cause cancer.
Baby powder accounts for only a tiny fraction of J&J's annual revenue, but it has been a core member of the company's product roster for more than a century. Questions about its safety have led to more than 14,000 lawsuits from consumers asserting that the company's talc products caused their ovarian cancer or mesothelioma, a rare form of the disease linked to asbestos exposure.
Justice Department prosecutors, FBI agents and Securities and Exchange Commission regulators are almost surely looking at whether J&J officials' public denials were truthful, legal experts said. SEC spokeswoman Judy Burns declined to comment. Shares of J&J plunged as much as 17% in December — erasing billions of dollars in value — after news reports appeared about the internal memos.The February document requests from the Justice Department, the SEC and the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions sought information about the company's knowledge of asbestos in its talc-based products.
The grand jury inquiry is likely to influence any talks between J&J and plaintiffs over resolving their claims out of court, said Peter Henning, a law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. Baby powder is mostly talc, a mineral that is used to keep skin dry and as an astringent to prevent diaper rash. It's also used in consumer products such as makeup, paint and dietary supplements. But geological formations that contain talc also yield asbestos, a fire-resistant mineral once used in products such as building insulation.
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