More than 50 years ago, nearly a dozen men incarcerated outside of Philadelphia enrolled in an experiment funded by Johnson & Johnson, according to unsealed documents. Now, those studies have come back to haunt the world’s largest maker of health-care products.
In one study, inmates were paid to be injected with potentially cancer-causing asbestos so the company could compare its effect on their skin versus that of talc, a key component in its iconic baby powder.
University of Pennsylvania dermatologist Albert Kligman conducted hundreds of human experiments over two decades at Holmesburg Prison in Pennsylvania. The testing regime, funded by entities such as Dow Chemical and the U.S. government, involved mostly Black inmates and first came to light decades ago in books and newspaper articles. But J&J’s involvement in the talc studies focusing on asbestos hasn’t been made public in the media before now.
The unsealed prison-testing files came to light in two trials last year over legal claims that J&J’s talc-based powder causes cancer, and legal experts say that information could be powerful evidence in future cases, justifying punishment awards.
While they didn’t dispute the company hired Kligman in the 1960s to do baby powder tests, J&J officials said they regretted the firm’s involvement with the dermatologist. Still, they noted the tests didn’t violate research standards at the time.
The unsealed prison-testing files came to light in two trials last year over legal claims that J&J’s talc-based powder causes cancer, and legal experts say that information could be powerful evidence in future cases, justifying punishment awards.
While they didn’t dispute the company hired Kligman in the 1960s to do baby powder tests, J&J officials said they regretted the firm’s involvement with the dermatologist. Still, they noted the tests didn’t violate research standards at the time.
