Three scientists beat J&J's defamation suit over talc research

By Dietrich Knauth

NEW YORK, Aug 21 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge in Virginia has ruled that three researchers did not defame Johnson & Johnson by publishing research linking cosmetic talcum powder products to mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer.

• J&J sued Theresa Emory, John Maddox and Richard Kradin, alleging that they defamed the company in a 2020 scientific article.

• The article said it reviewed 75 patients who had mesothelioma and had no link to asbestos other than exposure to cosmetic talc products like baby powder.

• U.S. District Judge Jamar Walker on Wednesday ruled in favor of the scientists, finding no evidence of "malice" in their article.

• The litigation revealed some "mistakes" in the data, but nothing that was obvious or ignored at the time of the study, according to the ruling.

• J&J said it would appeal, seeking a trial on its claims that the scientists made false statements about cosmetic talc and asbestos exposure.

• The three defendants are doctors who maintain pathology practices, and who have testified as plaintiffs' experts in asbestos litigation.

• The scientists' attorney, Liz Lockwood, said that the ruling vindicates her clients and strongly affirms the importance of protecting scientific speech.

• J&J has been facing a deluge of litigation over its talc products, and it sued the scientists before agreeing to settle those cases for at least $5.5 billion.

• The company showed that eight of the 75 patients in the 2020 study had been included in a 2019 study by another researcher, even though the 2020 study claimed to have an entirely new set of patients. J&J has also sued the scientist who published the 2019 paper.

• The researchers were comparing anonymized data sets and information provided by lawyers, making it sometimes difficult to detect duplicates, the ruling said.

(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; editing by Blake Brittain in Washington)