NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ )

will get a new chance to contest the scientific evidence linking

talc products to ovarian cancer, a federal judge ruled on

Wednesday, potentially disrupting a federal court case that

consolidates 53,000 lawsuits.

U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in a brief written order

said recent changes in the law and new scientific evidence

requires a fresh review of the evidence that linked J&J products

to ovarian cancer.

Shipp took over the case in February 2023, after the

retirement of former Chief District Judge Freda Wolfson, who had

overseen the litigation since 2016.

J&J Worldwide Vice President of Litigation Erik Haas said

the company was very pleased by the ruling, and that it intended

to "shine a light on some of the made-for-court junk science"

used in recent trials.

"The passage of time has only solidified the decades of

medicine and science that support Johnson & Johnson's ( JNJ ) position

in these cases," Haas said in a statement.

J&J has repeatedly denied claims that its baby powder and

other talc products cause cancer or contain asbestos, a known

cause of mesothelioma.

The talc lawsuits had been on hold from 2021 to 2023, while

J&J pursued a failed effort to resolve the litigation through

the bankruptcy of a subsidiary company, LTL Management. Trials

have since resumed, and the latest case ended in a hung jury on

March 5.