RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – U.S. pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) allegedly helped fund an experiment at a Pennsylvania prison in the 1970s in which several mostly African-American inmates were injected with asbestos, a group of minerals linked to lung cancer, to determine whether the substance was safe for use in talc manufactured by the company.
According to documents released by Bloomberg on Monday, the company participated in the controversial testing by Dr. Albert Kligman, a University of Pennsylvania dermatologist whose human trials have been widely condemned as brutal and unethical.
To conduct the experiment, Kligman recruited ten inmates from Holmesburg Prison in 1971 to inject them with tremolite and chrysotile asbestos, along with an injection of talcum powder into their lower backs. As a reward for their participation, each inmate received between US$10 and US$300.
However, many of the volunteers were seriously injured and suffered side effects. One of them was called a “monster” by his daughter because he suffered deformities as a result of the tests.
COMPANY AT THE CENTER OF CONTROVERSY
While the experiments were public knowledge and linked to the U.S. government and chemical company Dow, this is the first time Johnson & Johnson’s involvement has come to light.
“We deeply regret the conditions under which these studies were conducted, and they in no way reflect the values or practices we employ today,” a spokesperson for the drugmaker said.
J&J also faces thousands of lawsuits after allegations surfaced that some of its products containing talc are often contaminated with asbestos and pose a risk to consumers.
To deal with the allegations, the company formed a corporation last October, which was immediately declared insolvent, to take on the brunt of the litigation over its baby powder.
The legal maneuver dubbed a “two-stage Texas bankruptcy,” is intended to transfer any liabilities J&J might face as a result of lawsuits or other legal action to the new structure.