The verdict comes as Johnson & Johnson battles more than 9,000 legal cases involving its signature baby powder.
A jury in the state of Missouri, USA initially awarded $550m in compensation and added $4.1bn in punitive damages. In the six-week trial, the women said they developed ovarian cancer after using baby powder and other talc products for decades. 6 of the 22 women represented in this case have died from ovarian cancer.
It is alleged that the company knew its talc was contaminated with asbestos since the 1970s but failed to warn the consumers.
Johnson & Johnson denied that its products ever contained asbestos and insisted that they do not cause cancer. The pharmaceutical giant said that several studies have shown its talc to be safe and said the verdict was a product of a fundamentally unfair process.
The prosecution lawyer told the Missouri court that Johnson & Johnson and the FDA had used flawed testing methods.
When the verdict came in after six-week trial, Johnson & Johnson said it was "deeply disappointed" and plans to appeal.
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