Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has announced an agreement to pay up to USD 5.5 billion to resolve the remaining lawsuits alleging that its talc-based products caused ovarian cancer, subject to the participation of at least 95 per cent of the remaining claimants.

The company said the proposed settlement covers the remaining talc litigation pending in US federal and state courts and follows a recent ruling by the federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) court regarding the inability of plaintiffs to prove specific causation -- that the company's talc products caused any particular claimant's ovarian cancer.