US pharma giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has said that it will “discontinue” sales of its talc-based baby powder around the world from next year and will switch to an all cornstarch-based version of the product. The move comes more than two years after the drug maker ended sales of its baby powder in the US and Canada amid mounting lawsuits accusing it of causing cancer.

“As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, we have made the commercial decision to transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio. As a result of this transition, talc-based JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder will be discontinued globally in 2023,” the US healthcare giant said in a statement on August 11. The US-based company, however, reiterated its position that its baby powder is safe to use and noted that it “does not cause cancer”. “Our position on the safety of our cosmetic talc remains unchanged. We stand firmly behind the decades of independent scientific analysis by medical experts around the world that confirms talc-based JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer,” J&J asserted.