British pharmaceutical company GSK has agreed to pay up to $2.2 billion (£1.68 billion) to settle thousands of lawsuits in the U.S. alleging that a discontinued version of its heartburn medication, Zantac, caused cancer. The company announced it had reached settlements with 10 law firms representing approximately 80,000 claimants, covering 93% of the outstanding cases.
In addition to the lawsuit settlements, GSK will pay $70 million to resolve a whistleblower complaint from a laboratory that accused the company of defrauding the U.S. government by concealing the cancer risks linked to Zantac. Despite the payouts, GSK has not admitted any wrongdoing.
The company maintains that there is “no consistent or reliable evidence” that the drug increases cancer risk but stated the settlements will “remove significant financial uncertainty.”
Zantac, approved for sale in the U.S. in 1983, quickly became a blockbuster drug, generating over $1 billion in annual sales within five years. However, in 2020, U.S. regulators pulled Zantac from shelves due to concerns that its key ingredient, ranitidine, could form a cancer-causing substance when exposed to heat. This led to a wave of lawsuits against its manufacturers.
In 2019, UK doctors were also advised to stop prescribing certain types of Zantac as a precaution, following global concerns over potential impurities in the drug.
Aside from GSK, other pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer and Sanofi, which have also marketed Zantac, have reached settlements in similar cases. Boehringer Ingelheim remains the exception, with no major settlements announced to date.
A version of the drug, Zantac 360, which does not contain ranitidine, is still available for sale.
