DRUGMAKER GSK TO PAY £1.7BN OVER ZANTAC CANCER CLAIMS – 80,000 cases alleging cancers were linked to drugs
British drugmaker GSK has struck an agreement to make a payment of up to $2.2bn (£1.7bn) to resolve litigation brought in the US over its heartburn treatment Zantac.
The company said it had struck agreements with 10 plaintiff law firms who represent about 93%, roughly 80,000, of the US state court product liability cases pending against it.
The claimants had alleged their cancers were linked to Zantac, known generically as ranitidine. GSK had argued there was no evidence to suggest an increased cancer risk and has not admitted any liability in the settlements.
GSK also confirmed that it had reached an agreement in principle to pay a total of $70m to resolve the Zantac complaint previously filed by Valisure, the independent Connecticut-based laboratory that said its testing in 2019 revealed that Zantac could form a cancer-causing carcinogen known as NMDA. The agreement in principle is subject to final approval from the Department of Justice.
