GSK to seek dismissal of Florida case against heartburn drug Zantac

[August 16, 2024]  (Reuters) - British drugmaker GSK said on Friday it would seek a dismissal of an upcoming Zantac case in Florida, where plaintiffs alleged that its discontinued heart burn drug had caused prostate cancer.

The move followed a Florida court ruling on Thursday in favour of GSK and other defendants. The ruling excluded testimony from experts that ranitidine, the active ingredient in Zantac and generic versions of the drug, was a significant risk factor for prostate cancer in the Wilson case.

Other defendants include Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer and Sanofi, which sold the drug at different times.

GSK said the Florida court decision echoed a December 2022 federal court ruling which rejected all expert evidence by the plaintiffs and dismissed all multidistrict litigation cases alleging bladder, esophageal, gastric, liver, or pancreatic cancer.

In June, a Delaware court's ruling permitted more than 70,000 lawsuits to go forward and allowed plaintiffs to present expert testimony that Zantac causes cancer. GSK is appealing that decision.

The majority of the more than 74,000 Zantac cases are in Delaware, and four are in Florida.

A bottle of Zantac heartburn drug is seen in this picture illustration taken October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Illustration/File Photo

About five years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked manufacturers to pull the drug off the market over concerns that ranitidine could degrade into a chemical called NDMA over time or when exposed to heat.

GSK shares have fallen nearly 10% since the Delaware decision in June. Analysts had estimated total settlement costs for the company of around $5 billion.

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

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