UK pharmaceutical giant GSK has agreed to pay up to $2.2 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits in the US, alleging that a discontinued version of its heartburn medication Zantac caused cancer. The company has reached agreements with 10 law firms representing approximately 80,000 claimants, accounting for 93% of all cases filed against it in US courts. The settlement is expected to resolve the majority of legal claims linked to the drug.
Zantac, which was once one of the world’s best-selling drugs, was first approved for sale in the US in 1983. By 1988, it had reached peak popularity, generating over $1 billion in annual sales. However, in 2020, US regulators pulled the drug from shelves after concerns emerged that its active ingredient, ranitidine, could degrade into a substance that may cause cancer when exposed to heat. This regulatory action triggered a wave of lawsuits against the drug’s manufacturers, including GSK, with claimants alleging that Zantac caused them to develop cancer.
In addition to the mass tort litigation, GSK will pay $70 million to resolve a separate whistleblower complaint. The complaint, filed by a laboratory, alleged that GSK concealed Zantac’s potential cancer risks from the US government, thereby defrauding it. Despite agreeing to the settlements, GSK has not admitted any wrongdoing in any of the cases.
In a statement to investors, GSK said that the settlements would eliminate “significant financial uncertainty, risk, and distraction associated with protracted litigation.” By resolving these cases, the company aims to put an end to a lengthy and costly legal battle. The lawsuits have posed a substantial financial risk to the company, but with the settlements now in place, GSK seeks to move past the issue.
Zantac has also been marketed by other major pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Sanofi, and Boehringer Ingelheim. Pfizer and Sanofi have also agreed to settle their cases, while Boehringer Ingelheim remains the only major manufacturer yet to announce any significant settlements.
A new version of Zantac, branded as Zantac 360, is currently being sold. This version contains no ranitidine, the ingredient linked to the cancer claims.
