GSK Settles Zantac Cases After Claiming Popular Heartburn Drug Causes Cancer

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Pharmaceutical heavyweight GSK announced Wednesday that it has settled four U.S. lawsuits that claimed its popular heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, averting a trial that was scheduled to begin in California on Wednesday. next month as it and other pharmaceutical companies struggle to navigate looming legal threats from discontinuing the drug. .

GSK has settled several lawsuits claiming that Zantac causes cancer.

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Highlights

The British drugmaker did not disclose terms of the deal, but said it had reached a confidential settlement for the Cantlay/Harper case filed in California state court.

GSK said the case, which was due to go to trial on November 13, would now be closed.

The company said it also settled three breast cancer cases in California and would be barred from pretrial cases and hearings.

No further details about these settlements or cases were given.

GSK emphasized that the settlement decisions reflect the company’s desire to avoid the distractions of protracted litigation and are not an admission of liability.

The pharmaceutical company said it will continue to vigorously defend itself based on facts and science in all other Zantac cases.

Key context

Zantac, sold under the generic name ranitidine, was a best-seller and one of the first drugs to achieve blockbuster status by surpassing $1 billion in annual sales. The drug, used to treat ulcers and relieve heartburn, was developed and marketed in the early 1980s by Glaxo Holdings, a British company that later became part of GlaxoSmithKline, or GSK. At different times, versions of Zantac have also been marketed by other pharmaceutical companies, including Haleon, Sanofi, and Pfizer. In 2019, health regulators said they were investigating the drug over concerns it contained a probable carcinogen (something that can cause cancer) called NDMA, prompting many companies to voluntarily withdraw the medicine on the market. In 2020, the Food and Drug Administration said the drug itself appeared to produce NDMA over time. It may be safe in small amounts but can cause cancer when consumed in large quantities and ordered that all ranitidine drugs be removed from the market. A wave of lawsuits followed against the companies that marketed these drugs, which lost $30 billion in market capitalization last year amid growing concerns about their potential liabilities, although drug companies say it There is no scientific evidence to support claims of harm to consumers.

To monitor

GSK, which settled a similar lawsuit in California in June, still faces numerous Zantac-related lawsuits. Citi analysts estimate that the company will settle all lawsuits against it for around $5 billion in the first quarter of 2024, according to Reuters.

Large number

79,000. This is the number of cases linked to Zantac that GSK is still facing, according to Reuters. The majority of them, some 73,000, are in Delaware, which is considered a less challenging jurisdiction for large companies than California.