Drugmakers GSK Plc and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH successfully convinced a Chicago jury to dismiss a woman’s claim that the blockbuster heartburn drug Zantac caused her cancer, marking a win for the companies in the first of thousands of similar lawsuits to go to trial.
On Thursday, jurors determined that GSK and Boehringer were not liable for Angela Valadez’s injuries and had properly marketed the drug without a warning about its alleged cancer risk, as stated by GSK and the lawyers involved. Valadez had sought at least $640 million in damages.
This verdict from the Illinois state court brought relief to GSK and Boehringer investors worried about the financial repercussions of the thousands of US lawsuits targeting Zantac makers and demanding billions in damages.
Despite the favorable verdict, GSK’s shares dipped slightly in early London trading, though they have risen 20% since the start of the year.
Jefferies had previously expressed skepticism about the scientific basis linking Zantac to the tumor type in this case, estimating a 10 to 15% risk to GSK’s share price from an adverse jury verdict. With this verdict, Jefferies analyst Peter Welford noted that this risk has been mitigated.
Shore Capital’s Sean Conroy called the result “another positive outcome for GSK,” suggesting it was a step towards resolving the litigation-related uncertainties affecting the company’s growth prospects.
GSK stated that the outcome aligns with the scientific consensus indicating no consistent or reliable evidence of increased cancer risks from Zantac.
Valadez’s attorney, Mikal Watts, acknowledged the jury’s decision but vowed to continue pursuing more claims. “Zantac harmed many Americans, and we will prove that over and over in jury trials to come,” Watts said.
During the trial, Valadez testified about the severe impact of her cancer on her daily life, recounting incidents like suffering explosive diarrhea in social settings, including an accident in a limousine on the way to a wedding.
Zantac entered the US market as a prescription drug in 1983 and became an over-the-counter product in 1996. It was the world’s top-selling medicine five years later, becoming one of the first blockbuster drugs with over $1 billion in annual sales. Various companies have owned it over the years.
Last month, Bloomberg News reported that Paris-based Sanofi, Zantac’s current owner, agreed to pay over $100 million to settle approximately 4,000 lawsuits alleging failure to warn users of Zantac’s potential cancer risk. Sanofi still faces claims in other state courts.
While GSK has settled some cases pre-trial, it chose to contest Valadez’s claims regarding her colorectal cancer. She argued that Zantac’s former active ingredient, ranitidine, likely formed the carcinogen NDMA over time or when stored at high temperatures. The US Food and Drug Administration recalled Zantac in 2019 due to the NDMA discovery.
During the nearly month-long trial, GSK and Boehringer’s lawyers contended that no scientific studies have linked ranitidine to colorectal cancer and that Valadez likely developed the illness from other risk factors.
Following the FDA recall, Sanofi obtained approval to reintroduce Zantac to US shelves without ranitidine, using famotidine instead, the active ingredient in competitor Pepcid, marketed jointly by Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson spinoff Kenvue Inc.
In 2022, Zantac makers gained a boost when a federal judge dismissed over 5,000 suits in federal court in Florida, citing flawed science behind the cancer claims. This decision also impacted about 50,000 unfiled cases under the multi-district litigation (MDL). Many of these cases were later refiled in Delaware state court.
Judge Vivian Medinilla in Wilmington is currently assessing the scientific validity of over 70,000 Zantac cases filed in her court and is expected to rule soon on whether these suits can proceed to trial.
The Chicago case is Valadez v Walgreens, 2020-L-000483, Cook County Circuit Court (Chicago).
