Johnson & Johnson reached a tentative agreement to pay roughly $700 million to resolve an investigation into the company's marketing of the talcum-based baby powder in the United States, Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk told The Wall Street Journal in an interview on Tuesday.
Wolk described the deal as an "important step" to "reasonably put the matter behind us" after over 40 states launched a probe, with New Mexico and Mississippi accusing the company of violating consumer-protection laws.
Last year, the US pharmaceutical giant agreed to pay $8.9 billion over the next 25 years to settle the claims that its talc-based products, specifically Johnson's Baby Powder, caused cancer in women. Johnson & Johnson discontinued global powder sales last year.
