Johnson & Johnson Down More Than 9% After Reuters Report

By Michael Dabaie

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares on Friday were down 9.31% to $134.07 after a Reuters report that said internal documents show the company's baby powder was sometimes tainted with asbestos and that J&J kept that information from regulators and the public.

That drop puts the stock on pace for the largest percent decrease since July 19, 2002, when it fell 15.85%

"Johnson & Johnson's baby powder is safe and asbestos-free. Studies of more than 100,000 men and women show that talc does not cause cancer or asbestos-related disease," Johnson & Johnson said in a response to the Reuters report. "Thousands of independent tests by regulators and the world's leading labs prove our baby powder has never contained asbestos."

The company said it has cooperated with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other global regulators and provided them with all the information they requested over decades. "We have also made our cosmetic talc mines and processed talc available to regulators for testing. Regulators have tested both, and they have always found our talc to be asbestos-free," Johnson & Johnson said.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 14, 2018 13:47 ET (18:47 GMT)

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