Jan 8: A California jury on Monday heard opening statements in the latest trial over allegations that Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based products, including the company’s baby powder, were contaminated with asbestos and cause cancer.

NEW YORK, Dec 18: Johnson & Johnson on Monday scrambled to contain fallout from a Reuters report that the healthcare conglomerate knew for decades that cancer-causing asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder, taking out full-page newspaper ads defending its product and practices, and readying its chief executive for his first television interview since investors erased tens of billions of dollars from the company’s market value.

(Reuters) - Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) fell 10 percent on Friday and were on track to post their biggest percentage drop in more than 16 years, after Reuters reported that the pharma major knew for decades that cancer-causing asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder.