New Delhi, July 28 -- Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue Inc will pay around $5.5 billion ( Rs.52,668 crore) to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits in the US that alleged the companies' baby powder and other talc products caused ovarian cancer.

J&J has maintained that its talc-based products do not cause cancer and that it has marketed its baby powder appropriately for more than a century. Erik Haas, the firm's Vice President of Litigation, described the allegations as "meritless" and said the company wanted to settle the cases in order to finally resolve the matter, the BBC reported.

Haas said in a statement that the company believes it would have "ultimately prevailed with further litigation", noting that it has succeeded in most of the ca...