In a Jan. 28 letter to Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky, Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., requests a wealth of documents from the company by Feb. 11 concerning potential asbestos contamination of its talcum powder products, past and present. As ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Murray says she is “troubled” in particular by a December Reuters article that raised questions about J&J’s transparency on the subject with both consumers and regulators. (Also see "J&J Doing Damage Control Following Reuters Report On Asbestos ‘Lurking’ In Johnson’s Powder" - HBW Insight, 20 December, 2018.) She seeks “all documentation from internal testing, testing conducted for Johnson & Johnson by outside consultants, or by testing entities that identified asbestos in any form of talc from Johnson & Johnson mines or in Johnson & Johnson products,” as well as “all communications with the FDA regarding the safety of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder, dating from 1966 to present,” among other records of interest. J&J’s Gorsky and CFO Joseph Wolk discussed their disappointment with the Reuters article, maintaining their confidence in Johnson’s Baby Powder safety and J&J’s handling of talc/asbestos concerns, in a January presentation at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. (Also see "J&J CEO Sees Victory Ahead On Talc, Growth From Johnson's Relaunch" - HBW Insight, 8 January, 2019.)
An agency rep confirmed in an exchange with HBW Insight that FDA has stayed its final rule, issued at the end of October 2018, to repeal the 1980 regulation allowing for lead acetate’s use as a color additive in hair-dye products. (Also see "In Time For Halloween, FDA Rule Conjures Up Specter Of Renewed Cosmetic Lead Debate" - HBW Insight, 31 October, 2018.) That rule would have gone into effect Dec. 3, 2018, and FDA intended to use enforcement discretion for one year to enable industry compliance. However, Grecian Formula and Just For Men marketer Combe Inc.objected to the rule, a move that other stakeholders say was motivated ostensibly by concerns about possible consumer lawsuits. (Also see "FDA May Put Hold On Lead Acetate Hair-Dye Rule; Manufacturer Combe Demands Hearing" - HBW Insight, 15 January, 2019
