GSK suffered a major setback in its legal battle against the discontinued heartburn drug Zantac after a US judge waved through the lawsuits filed by 72,000 people claiming it caused them cancer.
The Delaware State Court decided late Friday night that plaintiffs could bring in their expert witnesses to testify against GSK. The company tried to have the plaintiffs’ expert witnesses and evidence thrown away on the basis that it wasn’t scientifically sound, which would have been a good way to stop cases.
Zantac, first approved in 1983, was one of the most successful treatments for Glaxo (as GSK was known at that time), and was also among the first drugs to reach $1 billion in sales. It was removed from the shelves by US authorities in 2019 over fears that a component in the drug could have caused an impurity which could cause cancer.
The ruling is a major blow to GSK, because Delaware is where the majority of the claims were filed in this long-running legal battle. There are 72,000 Zantac claims in Delaware but only 2,897 in California.
Zantac is one of the few drugs to ever sell over $1 billion.
In December 2022, a Florida judge had dismissed 47,000 cases on the grounds that the evidence supporting the case was unreliable. The Delaware judge, however, found that the evidence was admissible. This means the cases will continue.
Share prices have been affected by the possibility of high legal costs resulting from long-running lawsuits. GSK’s shares have risen each time it has settled a plaintiff lawsuit in the last year as investors hoped to end the uncertainty about possible liabilities.
The company has said that it will appeal the decision.
GSK will continue to defend itself vigorously against all claims, and manage this litigation for the benefit of shareholders. The company will also file motions to dismiss, pressing for additional defences and severance cases, and will require claimants to prove their use. At the same time it will proceed to individual trials.
An insider of a company said: “The facts and science are on our side, and we will fight this to the end.” This is a procedural matter, not a judgment, and has no impact on our growth plans.
Zantac has not only hurt GSK. Glaxo’s patent expired in 1997. This opened the door for a number of pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi, and Boehringer Ingelheim, to produce over-the counter Zantac. Some of these companies have also been sued: Last month, Pfizer agreed to pay $250 million (£200million) to settle over 10,000 lawsuits filed in the US regarding its Zantac medicine.
GSK is the company that has been most affected, as they sold Zantac on prescription. This has a more clear paper trail than purchases made over-the counter.
Last month, the first Zantac trial was held. Lawyers representing Angela Valadez, 89 years old at the time, argued that Zantac had contributed to her colon cancer. The jury ruled in GSK’s favor.
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