By Michael Dabaie

 

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares on Friday were down 8.5% to $135.22 after a Reuters report that said internal documents show the company's powder was sometimes tainted with carcinogenic asbestos and that J&J kept that information from regulators and the public.

"Any suggestion that Johnson & Johnson knew or hid information about the safety of talc is false" Ernie Knewitz, J&J's vice president of global media relations, wrote in an emailed response to Reuters. The response said thousands of independent tests prove the comapany's talc doesn't contain asbestos or cause cancer, Reuters reported.

The stock drop is the worst recent fall since March 2000, when J&J stock fell nearly 11%, according to FactSet.

 

Write to Michael Dabaie at michael.dabaie@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 14, 2018 11:22 ET (16:22 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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