Hundreds of British women are planning to take on one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies over claims that talcum powder caused them to get ovarian cancer.

Nearly 2,000 cancer patients, survivors and their families are expected to join a class-action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson.

This would be the first court case the company has faced on this issue in the UK and the largest legal action by a pharmaceutical group in English and Welsh legal history.

This follows thousands of similar claims in the United States that have led to Johnson & Johnson already paying billions of dollars in compensation.

Lawyers for the British plaintiffs say the talcum powder was contaminated with cancer-causing asbestos, which the company knew and was trying to remove.

But Johnson & Johnson has denied the allegations, saying instead that they “defy logic, rewrite history and ignore the facts.”

Linda Jones, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last November, is among the women launching the class action lawsuit.

Today, doctors told the 66-year-old she may only have a few years to live.

In 2020, Sharon Doherty, 57, who lives in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, was also diagnosed with left-sided ovarian cancer and right-sided fallopian cancer.

Linda Jones, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last November, is among the women launching the class action lawsuit.

Nearly 2,000 cancer patients, survivors and their families expected to join class-action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson

The director of the North Devon company said: “My mother used it on me when I was a baby in the 1950s, and I continued to use it for years afterwards.

“We just trusted what the ads said and thought it was a good product.

“When I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, it never occurred to me that it could be due to asbestos exposure, until I started reading about the lawsuits justice in America. Suddenly it all made sense.

“My children will lose their mother, I may never even meet my first grandchild, and my husband and I were deprived of our retirement together after only six years of marriage.

She added: “If there had been any suggestion that talc could harm not only women, but also small babies, it should have been taken off the market.

“One wonders how many other women who have already died may have been exposed.”

Talcum powder had been popular for decades for its ability to keep skin dry and prevent rashes, used on both adults and babies.

But the powder, made from a natural mineral, may also contain small amounts of asbestos according to some studies – a carcinogen known to cause cancer if repeatedly inhaled.

Cassandra Wardle, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021, is among the women launching the class action lawsuit

The 47-year-old from Alfreton in Derbyshire said talcum powder was used on her when she was a baby and she continued to use it “for 20 years or more”.

Once asbestos fibers enter the body, they can become permanently lodged in soft tissues, causing severe cellular damage and inflammation, which can lead to cancer.

Earlier this year, in July, the World Health Organization also concluded that the mineral talc itself was “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

Cassandra Wardle, from Alfreton in Derbyshire, is another woman getting in on the action.

She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2022, aged just 44.

Ms Wardle said talc was used on her when she was a baby and as an adult she regularly used talcum powder after a bath or as a deodorant, including on his genitals.

“That’s exactly what people did. Johnson and Johnson talc was present in every home and was a brand of trust,” she added.

“I’m grateful to still be here, but I’m also incredibly angry.

“I want to know why Johnson & Johnson didn’t change the ingredients in talc even though they knew it was dangerous.”

Johnson & Johnson discontinued mineral-based talc in the UK last year after halting sales in the US in 2020.

“Why did they continue to sell it, putting thousands of lives at risk? What they did is simply despicable.

Meanwhile, Sharon Doherty, who lives in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, was also diagnosed with left-sided ovarian cancer in 2020 and right-sided fallopian cancer.

The 57-year-old said: “My mother used talcum powder on all of us after a bath, and I continued to do it as I got older.”

Despite surgery and six months of chemotherapy, Ms Doherty recently learned her cancer had returned.

She is awaiting further treatment from the NHS, which she hopes will start in the coming weeks.

Johnson & Johnson stopped sales of mineral-based talc in the UK last year after halting sales in the US in 2020.

At the time, they said this was due to financial pressures and a “disinformation campaign” around the product.

In the United States, the company has been sued by more than 62,000 people and at least $13 billion has been paid or set aside in response to the suit.

Germ cell tumors are a rare form of the disease that develops in the ovaries, the female organs that produce eggs. It is often called a “silent killer” because symptoms do not appear until the later stages of the disease.

However, several cases have since been overturned on appeal.

In recent decades, small studies have pointed to a link between talc and ovarian cancer, but some have been criticized for “recall bias” because they asked women with ovarian cancer ovary to remember if they had ever used talcum powder.

Tom Longstaff, a partner at KP Law – who is representing the plaintiffs in the new action – said: “This once trusted company knew for decades that asbestos in its talc products was present, that it was dangerous, but did nothing to notify him. consumers of risk.

“We are committed to helping as many people as possible achieve justice in the UK for the actions of profit-hungry executives in US corporate boards.”

But Erik Haas, global vice president of litigation at Johnson & Johnson, said the company “takes the issue of talc safety incredibly seriously and always has.”

He added: “As our documents show, we rely on the most advanced testing protocols in decades and have been fully transparent with government institutions and academic researchers regarding our results.

“These results consistently show the absence of asbestos contamination in Johnson’s baby powder and in talc from Johnson’s baby powder.

“Independent science clearly shows that talc is not associated with the risk of ovarian cancer or mesothelioma.”

Mr. Haas also claimed that Johnson & Johnson had won – or won on appeal – the “vast majority” of cases in the United States.

The case is expected to last four to five years, and some women fear they will not live long enough to see its conclusion.

Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the UK. The disease kills around 11 women every day in Britain, on average, or 4,000 a year.

In the United States, it also kills three times as many women each year, according to figures.

It is often diagnosed late because symptoms are vague and may include indigestion, pelvic or abdominal pain, loss of appetite, constipation, and a need to urinate more often.

About 93 percent of women diagnosed live five years or more if detected at the earliest stage, compared to just 13 percent diagnosed at stage four.

About one-fifth of women with ovarian cancer are also diagnosed in the emergency room, often when it is too late for treatment.