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Snapshot 4:Thu, Oct 10, 2024 4:26:28 PM GMT last edited by Brian

GSK Agrees to Pay Up to $2.2B to Settle 80K Zantac Lawsuits

GSK Agrees to Pay Up to $2.2B to Settle 80K Zantac Lawsuits

Above: GlaxoSmithKline (GSk) headquarters in London. Image copyright: JUSTIN TALLIS/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images

The Facts

  • Pharmaceutical giant GSK has reached a confidential settlement for four lawsuits in the US claiming its heartburn drug Zantac causes cancer, including the Cantlay/Harper case set for trial in California next month.Pharmaceutical giant GSK has reached a confidential settlement for four lawsuits in the US over claims that its heartburn drug Zantac causes cancer. The settlements, which include the Cantlay/Harper case set for trial in California next month, were to avoid further litigation.

  • The settlement includes three "bellwether" breast cancer cases in California, resulting in GSK's dismissal from these cases and related pre-trial hearings, though the company maintains this is not an admission of liability.

  • Zantac, first sold in the US in 1983, became a blockbuster drug in 1988, topping $1B in annual sales. Different pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi and Pfizer, later marketed it.Zantac, whose chemical ranitidine is believed to form the carcinogen NDMA, first sold in the US in 1983 and topped $1B in annual sales in 1988. Different pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi and Pfizer, later marketed it.


The Spin

GSK's decision to settle these cases simply avoids the distraction of protracted litigation. There'sAs there is no scientific evidence backing claims of consumer harm from Zantac., Thethe company will continue defending itself in all other Zantac cases based on facts and science.


TheGSK wouldn't be paying such enormous settlements indicateif GSKit wasn'st awarenesshiding ofsomething. potentialIn liability.fact, Theinvestigations FDA'shave findingsnow thatshown Zantacthe producescompany NDMAwas overaware time,of whichZantac's canlink causeto cancer inas largefar quantities,back supportas the plaintiffs'early claims.1980s, Themeaning massiveGSK numberis ofliable pendingfor lawsuitsdecades suggestsworth widespreadof concernunnecessary aboutcancer the drug's safetydiagnoses.


There'sThe avast 50%majority chanceof thatUS thehealth averageregulators survivalhave rateconflicts of allinterest cancerswith willthe exceedfood 75%and bypharmaceutical 2029industries, accordingwhich tois why they promote these billion-dollar drugs rather than talk about underlying causes. For example, gastric reflux, which causes heartburn, could be prevented by simply walking a few thousand steps a day. The US government and its friends in big business are the Metaculussole predictioncauses communityof American health problems.


There's a 50% chance that the average survival rate of all cancers will exceed 75% by 2029, according to the Metaculus prediction community.



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