(Bloomberg) -- Johnson & Johnson said Friday a majority of baby powder users agreed to back an around $8 billion settlement of claims the talc-based product gave them cancer, a key step as the company makes its third attempt to resolve thousands of lawsuits in bankruptcy court.

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The company said its subsidiary Red River Talc LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas after 83% of claimants accepted J&J’s settlement offer.

J&J put its settlement offer to a vote among alleged victims, most of whom are women, over the last few months. The process was designed to overcome flaws in the company’s first two failed bankruptcy attempts. The company recently sweetened its settlement offer to more than $8.2 billion, Bloomberg first reported Thursday.

Over the past decade, juries have awarded billions of dollars in damages to people who blame fatal cancers like mesothelioma on J&J’s baby powder. The company has struggled to reach an out-of-court settlement with some victims and put an end to the lawsuits.

J&J has said its talc-based powders never caused cancer and that it appropriately marketed its now-withdrawn talc-based baby powder for more than 100 years. Last year, the company discontinued the talc-based version of the product and replaced it with a cornstarch-based substitute.

“This plan is fair and equitable to all parties,” said Erik Haas, Worldwide Vice President of Litigation, Johnson & Johnson, and “should be expeditiously confirmed by the bankruptcy court.”

The company’s stock was largely unchanged Friday afternoon.

(Updates with more context on the announcement starting in paragraph three.)

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