For the second time in a week, a jury has ruled that Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder was not the cause of a plaintiff’s ovarian cancer.

The verdict, delivered by a St. Louis jury, followed two weeks of testimony and four hours of deliberations. It came as a relief to the health and beauty products conglomerate, which has been hit with multiple nine-figure judgments in the span of  a few months.

The plaintiff , 56-year-old Victoria F., was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 after using baby powder for many years. She claimed that the talc in the powder was contaminated with asbestos, causing her to develop the disease.

Counsel for the defense noted that the variety of ovarian cancer afflicting Victoria is extremely rare in women of African ancestry, as is the case for the plaintiff. The defense pointed out that the plaintiff suffers from endometriosis, which is associated with clear cell ovarian cancer.

A Johnson & Johnson spsokeswoman credited the jury for the way it “carefully considered the decades of clinical evidence,” proving the defendant’s claim that baby powder “does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer.”

Plaintiff’s counsel expressed disappointment in the case’s outcome, fearing that Johnson & Johnson “will view this verdict as approval of the continued sale of talc-based body powder that harms women.”

The verdict represents the eighth victory for Johnson & Johnson this year. Three other verdicts in favor of plaintiffs were overturned on appeal, Bloomberg reported.

Other Juries Reached Different Conclusions

A previous trial held in the same courtroom in 2018 ruled against Johnson and Johnson, awarding a $4.7 billion judgment to 20 women diagnosed with cancer after years of using baby powder and Shower to Shower. Johnson & Johnson’s co-defendant in that case, Imerys Talc, settled with the plaintiffs for approximately $5 million.

Johnson & Johnson recalled 33,000 bottles of baby powder after U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) testing discovered traces of asbestos in a sample. According to plaintiffs’ claims as well as an in-depth investigation by Reuters last year, the New Jersey-based health care products company was aware that its talc was contaminated with asbestos, and went to great lengths over a period of several years to conceal this information from the public.

Talc is often found in close proximity to asbestos deposits, as these two minerals are formed by similar geologic processes.

More Baby Powder Litigation on the Way

While recent court victories may have given J&J a respite, its troubles are far from over. Currently, there are over 16,000 pending lawsuits, all filed by women who have used products containing talc for personal hygiene and claim they developed cancer as a result.