The following is from Fierce Pharma.
GSK resolved a group of claims in California over heartburn medication Zantac. But the company is hardly out of the woods in the wide-ranging litigation.
The pharma giant did not reveal terms of its settlements, calling them “confidential.”
One case was set to go to trial on Nov. 13, over Zantac, which was ordered off the market by the FDA in 2020 as GSK and other drugmakers faced claims that the treatment contained a cancer-causing agent.
In the same release, the company also said it had agreed to resolve three bellwether breast cancer cases in California from former users of Zantac.
“The settlements reflect the company’s desire to avoid the distraction related to protracted litigation,” GSK said in its statement. “GSK does not admit any liability in the settlements and will continue to vigorously defend itself based on the facts and the science in all other Zantac cases.”
In July, GSK settled another California Zantac claim, with James Goetz who developed bladder cancer.
With the resolution, GSK avoided a jury trial that could have guided future cases in the state. Other former sellers of Zantac, Pfizer and Sanofi, had already settled with Goetz in December of last year.
As GSK settles individual cases in California, the company is gearing up for a tidal wave of Zantac litigation in Delaware, where approximately 75,000 cases are outstanding.
Link to article here.
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Hey Sharyl: Is this a spoof? The FDA did NOT remove Zantac (ranitidine hydrochloride) from the market. You can buy Zantac anywhere OTCs are sold. Lots to choose from.
The FDA recalled batches for contamination with a claimed carcinogen and grieving California lawyers tried to cash in on it (remember, prop 65 allows any Cali resident to sue anyone with deep pockets for producing anything the IARC deems ‘potentially harmful, including caffeine, contraceptives, aloe vera extract, and working the night shift. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IARC_group_2B)
Apparently, GSK fixed the problem, as have the generic ranitidine hydrochloride manufacturers.
Actually, Zantac 360 now contains famotidine (same as Pepcid). Ranitidine, the original ingredient in Zantac is no longer available in the U..S.
I am really curious as to how do you prove that Zantac caused breast cancer in some people and bladder cancer in somebody else. How do you prove that any one thing in particular can cause a variety of different cancers? How do you know these people would not have developed cancer otherwise have they not used this one particular product? I can understand that there are some things, like Asbestos or cigarettes, that are so toxic they can be reasonably suspected of causing cancers, but Zantac?