Executives of Johnson & Johnson knew about baby powder containing asbestos for decades, said a Reuters report.
According to documents examined by Reuters, it was found that between the 1970s to 2002s, the company’s scientists, doctors and lawyers beside executives knew that at times the raw talc of the company tested positive for small traces of asbestos. The report showed that the authorities failed to disclose the information to the regulators.
J&J’s lawyers rejected Reuters’ findings as “false and misleading.”
The American multinational medical devices company is currently undergoing thousands of lawsuits which allege them of having asbestos in their products, resulting in several diseases.
A jury had earlier ordered the company to pay $4.9 billion to plaintiffs; 22 women along with their families. The company has submitted over a thousand documents in case proceedings.
After the Reuter report surfaced, the stock prices for Johnson & Johnson plunged 11%. J&J nosedived its worst on July 19, 2002, a crash of 15.85% occurred that day.
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