J&J agrees $700 million talc settlement

Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has reportedly reached a tentative settlement to resolve probes by US states into whether it misled consumers about the safety of its talc products.

The deal, which includes 42 states and Washington DC, will see J&J pay about $700 million to settle the claims that the products can cause cancer, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Private complainants' claims against J&J remain outstanding, and overall the firm still faces more than 50,000 lawsuits over talc, mostly filed by women with ovarian cancer.