A potential legal headache for consumer healthcare giant Kenvue (KVUE +1.69%) was causing pain for investors on Thursday. Such troubles tend to spook the market; hence the more than 13% sell-off of Kenvue across that trading session. The S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.12%), by comparison, did much better on the day with "only" a 0.6% decrease.
New lawsuit with old allegations
Until it was spun off into a separate company, Kenvue was part of sprawling pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (JNJ +0.52%). The company has faced tens of thousands of lawsuits over its Johnson's Baby Powder, a once talc-based product that is widely alleged to have caused various types of cancer.
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The first such lawsuit in the U.K. has been filed by a group of roughly 3,000 claimants, according to reporting from various media. It was submitted to the English High Court against both Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson.
The former company basically inherited Johnson & Johnson's numerous consumer healthcare products, a portfolio that included Johnson's Baby Powder. In 2020, the main ingredient in the now-controversial product was switched from talc to cornstarch.
NYSE: KVUE
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Kenvue responds
Reporting on this development, Reuters wrote that Kenvue's response was that it did not believe the court would find that the talc-based powder causes cancer, as the claimants allege.
