Haleon believes it is not liable for any potential Zantac liabilities
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[September 20, 2022]
By Natalie Grover
LONDON (Reuters) -Haleon believes it is not
liable for any claims that may arise from U.S. litigation over the
heartburn drug Zantac, the London-listed company's CEO Brian McNamara
told Reuters on Tuesday.
More than 2,000 legal cases related to Zantac have been filed in the
United States over allegations that the compound contains a probable
carcinogen.
Zantac, originally marketed by a forerunner of GSK , has been sold by
several companies at different times, including Pfizer, Boehringer
Ingelheim and Sanofi as well as a plethora of generic drugmakers.
Haleon, spun out of GSK as an independent company in July as the world's
biggest standalone consumer health business, comprises consumer health
assets once owned by GSK and Pfizer.
Haleon has repeatedly said that it never marketed Zantac in any form in
the United States, either as Haleon or as GSK Consumer Healthcare.
In an interview with Reuters, McNamara reiterated that if any damages
are accrued as a result of U.S. litigation over Zantac, Haleon had never
agreed to accept a share of any potential such liabilities.
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"We felt like it was important that all our shareholders were aware of
that stance," he said.
Uncertainty around the outcome of the litigation triggered investor
concern last month, wiping billions off the market value of Haleon -
alongside GSK, Sanofi and Pfizer - although some of those losses have
been since pared back.
Shareholders fear a worst-case scenario where costs run into billions of
dollars, as happened in cases involving Merck & Co's painkiller Vioxx
and Bayer's glyphosate-based weedkiller.
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![](../images/092022PIX/health29.jpg)
The company logo for Haleon and the
trading info is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 20, 2022.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Sep/20/images/ads/current/lincoln_Printers_sda_FOOTBALL_2022.png) In a note last week, Credit Suisse
analysts estimated pre-tax Zantac liabilities for Haleon could be in
the region of $200 million to $400 million.
In a statement on Tuesday, Haleon said it had rejected
indemnification requests from GSK and Pfizer on the basis that the
scope of the indemnities set out in the joint venture agreement only
covers their consumer healthcare businesses as conducted when the JV
was formed in 2018.
"We do not agree with Haleon’s position," a GSK spokesperson said.
"GSK believes that there are grounds for it to bring indemnification
claims in respect of certain potential liabilities, including
against Haleon."
Pfizer was not immediately available for comment.
Haleon shares were up 1.4% as of 0750 GMT, while shares in GSK were
down 0.2%.
Haleon on Tuesday also posted detailed results for its performance
in the six months ending June 30.
Adjusted profit per share over the period was 9.6 pence per share,
beating expectations of 8.85 pence per share in company-compiled
consensus estimates.
The company also stood by its forecast for organic revenue growth in
the region of 6% to 8% for 2022.
(Reporting by Natalie Grover in London, additional reporting by Lucy
Raitano; editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jason Neely)
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