GlaxoSmithKline consents to resolve around 80,000 legal claims pertaining to Zantac, with a potential sum of $2.2 billion.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) resolved around 80,000 lawsuits, or 93% of the cases against them in various state courts across the USA, regarding their drug-making practices. This involves an agreement with ten law firms representing the plaintiffs, with GSK agreeing to pay $70 million as a settlement for a related whistleblower lawsuit filed by a Connecticut laboratory.
GSK maintains that it did not commit any wrongdoing, stating in a declaration that no consistent or substantial evidence demonstrated that ranitidine, the main component of the drug, increased the risk of cancer. Nonetheless, the settlements were proposed as a strategic move to avoid continuing litigation and potential complications.
Jennifer Moore and R. Brent Wisner, the leading attorneys for the plaintiffs, expressed their excitement over the agreement in a joint statement.
Approved by US regulators in 1983, Zantac swiftly became the world's best-selling drug in 1988, and one of the first to surpass $1 billion in annual sales. Over time, several pharmaceutical companies, including GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Boehringer Ingelheim, distributed Zantac.
After the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested manufacturers to withdraw Zantac from the market in 2020, citing concerns about ranitidine potentially transforming into the carcinogen NDMA over extended periods or when exposed to heat, lawsuits against these companies began to accumulate in both state and federal courts.
Pfizer reportedly agreed to settle most of its Zantac-related cases in state court, as per their most recent financial statement, while Sanofi announced the settlement of nearly 4,000 cases in April.
Boehringer Ingelheim has not announced any major settlements, but is currently facing trial over the drug in an Oakland, California, state court. The company denies any wrongdoing. Moore and Wisner, the leading attorneys, expressed their intent to continue pursuing claims against Boehringer Ingelheim for allegedly exposing millions of individuals to a carcinogen for over a decade.
Most of the remaining cases in state courts are in Delaware. A judge allowed crucial expert testimony in June, establishing a link between Zantac and cancer. The drug companies opposed this, arguing that the evidence was not based on strong scientific research, which could have ended the lawsuits. They are now appealing the judge’s decision to the Delaware Supreme Court.
The companies experienced a significant triumph in 2022 when a Florida federal court judge ruled that about 50,000 combined cases couldn't proceed due to insufficient scientific foundation for the plaintiffs' expert testimony. Approximately 14,000 of these cases are being appealed and are not part of the recent settlement agreement.
A drug currently marketed under the name Zantac 360 contains a different active ingredient and is devoid of ranitidine.
GSK's decision to settle the lawsuits related to Zantac was a business strategy to avoid prolonged litigation and potential complications.
The ongoing lawsuits against other companies, such as Boehringer Ingelheim, are a significant business issue for them, as the leading attorneys have expressed their intent to continue pursuing claims against them.
