UK pharmaceutical giant GSK has agreed to pay up to $2.2 billion to settle thousands of US lawsuits claiming its heartburn drug, Zantac, caused cancer. This settlement resolves 93% of all cases, involving around 80,000 claimants represented by 10 law firms.
GSK’s decision to settle comes after US regulators pulled Zantac off shelves in 2020 due to concerns that its key ingredient, ranitidine, could turn into a cancer-causing substance when exposed to heat. This move led to thousands of lawsuits against Zantac’s manufacturers, including GSK.
Zantac Cancer Claims are at the center of this controversy. GSK will also pay $70 million to resolve a whistleblower complaint alleging the company defrauded the US government by concealing Zantac’s cancer risks. Notably, GSK did not admit wrongdoing in any of the cases.
The company views the settlements as a way to “remove significant financial uncertainty, risk and distraction associated with protracted litigation”. Zantac was once the world’s best-selling drug, with annual sales topping $1 billion just five years after its US approval in 1983.
Other pharmaceutical firms, Pfizer and Sanofi, have also agreed to settle Zantac-related cases. However, Boehringer Ingelheim has not announced any settlements. Interestingly, a version of Zantac called Zantac 360, which contains no ranitidine, is still being sold.
The Zantac Cancer Claims settlement is significant, covering nearly all lawsuits. GSK’s move aims to put the issue behind them. The company and its stakeholders are concerned about The Zantac Cancer Claims.
GSK’s settlement addresses the bulk of Zantac Cancer Claims, providing closure for claimants and the company.
