Johnson & Johnson is offering $8.9 billion to end a lawsuit over carcinogenic products

US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday offered an $8.9 billion agreement to end all lawsuits filed against it in North America over the sale of talcum powder, which has been blamed for causing cancer.

According to a statement from the group, the agreement, which still has to be approved by a court, will "fairly and effectively resolve all complaints" accusing talcum powder of containing asbestos and causing ovarian cancer.

Johnson & Johnson says the deal does not constitute an admission of guilt, and continues to maintain that its talc-containing products are "safe", even though it has withdrawn it from North American markets.

The agreement, announced on Tuesday, whose payments by a subsidiary of the conglomerate could extend over 25 years, would "terminate all current and future complaints about talc," according to a Johnson & Johnson statement.

The company indicated that more than 60,000 plaintiffs agreed to such a solution to the judicial dispute.

"The company continues to believe that these complaints are unfounded and lack scientific merit," a Johnson & Johnson legal official said in the statement, but that the agreement would allow "the plaintiffs to be compensated within a reasonable time."

In June 2021, after years of litigation, a court order was issued requiring Johnson & Johnson to pay $2.1 billion in damages.

An appeals court in the US state of Missouri ruled that the group had "intentionally sold asbestos-containing products to consumers," causing "strong physical and psychological suffering."

While continuing to plead its innocence, Johnson & Johnson announced in May 2020 that it would stop selling this talc-containing powder in the United States and Canada, two countries where sales declined due to changing habits and consumer distrust of the product.