By Brendan Pierson
(Reuters) – The latest trial over claims that Johnson & Johnson’s talc products cause cancer ended in a mistrial on Tuesday, as a Florida state court jury said it could not agree on a verdict.
The lawsuit was brought by Bob Sugarman, who said that J&J’s talc-based baby powder led his wife to develop ovarian cancer and die from the disease.
J&J said in a statement after the mistrial that its baby powder “is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer.”
A lawyer for Sugarman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
J&J faces more than 50,000 lawsuits over talc, most by women with ovarian cancer, with a minority of the cases involving people with mesothelioma.
The cases were on hold for about two years as J&J unsuccessfully tried to resolve them through bankruptcy.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)
