2024 was a busy year for news regarding asbestos regulations, mesothelioma treatment advancement, lawsuits, and more items of interest for patients, caregivers, and victim advocates.
This past year, the U.S. government banned the most common type of asbestos, the FDA issued a new approval for a mesothelioma immunotherapy, Johnson & Johnson started a new attempt at filing for bankruptcy in asbestos legal claims, and a U.S. state long-troubled with asbestos in schools pledged a sizable financial investment to address the issue.
Here are the top eight news stories in 2024 involving mesothelioma and asbestos.
Asbestos Banned in U.S.
In March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took a step toward public safety that many advocates have long hoped for. The EPA banned the importation, sale, distribution, and use of asbestos.
Asbestos is the only cause of mesothelioma, which is a rare and deadly cancer. Asbestos also causes lung cancer and ovarian cancer. People are exposed to asbestos when it breaks apart during construction work, building or automobile repair work, using household appliances or factory machines containing asbestos for insulation, or another act that disturbs asbestos in materials.
The ban focuses on chrysotile asbestos, which is the only type still imported and used in the United States. There are other types of asbestos, but they only exist as legacy asbestos in old buildings and homes.
A few specific industries, such as the chlor-alkali industry, have a multi-year transition period.
This decision from the EPA comes after years of the agency reviewing the health risks and considering pleas from advocacy groups and organizations, including Mesothelioma Guide, to ban the deadly mineral.
Keytruda Approved for Unresectable Pleural Mesothelioma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Keytruda to treat unresectable pleural mesothelioma.
Keytruda is a mesothelioma immunotherapy that helps the immune system identify and attack cancer cells. Keytruda is the brand name for the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab.
Keytruda is approved when people with pleural mesothelioma cannot have surgery to remove their tumors. The FDA previously approved the immunotherapy drugs Opdivo and Yervoy as a combination immunotherapy.
Johnson & Johnson Makes Third Attempt at Bankruptcy
For the third time, Johnson & Johnson proposed a bankruptcy settlement to resolve tens of thousands of cancer lawsuits. The company faces backlash due to asbestos found in the company’s popular Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder.
The product, which for decades was a popular baby powder to keep skin dry, was made with talc. This mineral is found in the same geographic areas as asbestos. Talc and asbestos can mix together, which leads to trace amounts of asbestos in talcum powders such as Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder.
Even a trace amount of asbestos can cause deadly diseases such as mesothelioma or lung cancer. Many people who used Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder developed cancer years later. This has led to lawsuits.
Johnson & Johnson is trying to conclude up to 60,000 pending lawsuits – most involving ovarian cancer cases – by offering more than $8 billion to the victims. The proposal is being considered by victims and bankruptcy court judges. It does not involve pending mesothelioma lawsuits.
Johnson & Johnson tried this tactic two other times, but both were blocked by bankruptcy judges. Many people criticize the move as it prevents victims from having their opportunity in court. The move, which is called the Texas Two-Step, would create a trust fund to pay future victims. However, it usually saves the defending company from paying multi-million-dollar verdicts to individual cancer victims or their families.
Mesothelioma Cancer Centers Fill List of Top Hospitals in U.S.
Each year, the U.S. News & World Report releases a list of the top hospitals in America. The list also includes a ranking of the top hospitals for cancer.
Mesothelioma cancer centers filled the 2024-2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals Honor Roll. This is an accolade for mesothelioma hospitals.
Mesothelioma cancer centers are medical institutions with doctors and other staff who specialize in treating mesothelioma. These centers have special programs for mesothelioma treatment, patient support and more.
Some of the mesothelioma cancer centers making the 2024-2025 list are:
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital
(Boston) - Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian
(Philadelphia) - Johns Hopkins Hospital
(Baltimore) - Massachusetts General Hospital
(Boston) - Mayo Clinic-Rochester
(Minnesota) - Mount Sinai Hospital
(New York City) - NYU Langone Hospitals
(New York City) - University of California San Diego Health-La Jolla
- UCLA Medical Center
- University of California San Francisco Medical Center
Pennsylvania Invests in Repairing Schools With Asbestos
Pennsylvania government is making a $75 million investment for environmental repairs in state public schools. The repairs include removing or repairing asbestos in schools, which has been a persistent problem in Pennsylvania schools and throughout the United States.
The money will be dispersed to 109 Pennsylvania school districts, career and technical education centers, and charter schools.
In 2018, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a series of articles exposing asbestos in many Philadelphia public schools. From September 2019 to October 2023, more than a dozen Philadelphia schools closed due to asbestos. While many of the schools reopened after asbestos was repaired or removed, their closings uprooted students to different institutions and created havoc.
The school district also faced lawsuits for creating unsafe work and learning environments. One teacher even developed mesothelioma after working in Philadelphia schools for nearly 30 years.
Johnson & Johnson Settles Investigation Led by U.S. States
In addition to facing lawsuits from individuals who developed cancer after using Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder, the healthcare conglomerate also faced a lawsuit from U.S. states.
In 2024, Johnson & Johnson settled the lawsuit brought on by 42 states and Washington, D.C., for $700 million. The settlement ends an investigation led by the states into whether the company misled consumers to believe talc products are safe.
The attorneys general for Florida, North Carolina and Texas led the lawsuit.
Immunotherapy Works for Case of Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Immunotherapy had a tremendous effect in extending the life of a person diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. The case is evidence that immunotherapy can work for this type of mesothelioma.
A 74-year-old woman was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, which forms in the lining of the abdominal cavity. She received the immunotherapy drugs Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab).
For the next year, she had a durable anti-tumor response – meaning the cancer either shrunk or disappeared completely.
Opdivo and Yervoy are approved by the FDA to treat unresectable pleural mesothelioma. They are not approved for peritoneal mesothelioma, but patients can receive the treatment through a clinical trial.
Beauty Products Brand Avon Files for Bankruptcy
Avon, a once-popular international beauty brand, filed for bankruptcy as part of a Texas Two-Step maneuver to avoid talc and asbestos cancer lawsuits.
This decision is similar to the one made by Johnson & Johnson – and for the same reasons. Avon faces cancer lawsuits related to the company’s talc products, which allegedly contain trace amounts of asbestos. Using the products can lead to asbestos exposure, which can cause cancer.
According to the New York Post, approximately 200 talc and asbestos lawsuits have been filed against Avon Products in the last few years.
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing from Avon Products, Inc., is a historic moment for a once-proud American-made brand. The company is one of the oldest still-operating direct-selling companies in the United States.
The company’s product line was central to the female self-expression revolution in the early 20th century. This stronghold on the beauty industry continued into the 21st century.
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