TEVA - GSK says Canadian court dismisses potential Zantac class suit

2023-05-12 04:56:41 ET

GSK ( NYSE: GSK ) said its welcomed a Canadian court's decision to dismiss a proposed class action suit on behalf of a class of ranitidine users in Canada.

The British pharma giant said that the decision recognizes that after more than three years of study, the scientific consensus is that there is no reliable evidence that ranitidine increases the risk for any type of cancer.

The company added that since 2019 there have been 13 peer-reviewed epidemiological studies conducted looking at human data related to the use of ranitidine, sold as Zantac for heartburn.

"Given the uncontroverted evidence that neither ranitidine nor NDMA are reliably associated with increased cancer risk, and the absence of evidence that ranitidine or NDMA cause cancer in humans, the plaintiff has failed to raise a bona fide triable issue regarding injury due to the ingestion and/or purchase of ranitidine," said the British Columbia Supreme Court in Dussiaume v. Sandoz Canada Inc. 2023 BCSC 795, according to the company.

GSK noted that it will continue to defend proposed class actions by ranitidine users which have been filed in Ontario and Quebec and individual actions by users of the drug in Canada.

Zantac (ranitidine) was pulled from the U.S. market in 2020 amid concerns over the unacceptable levels of potential human carcinogen, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA).

Zantac lawsuits have been a cause of concern for not only GSK, but also Sanofi ( SNY ), GSK consumer spinoff Haleon ( HLN ), Pfizer ( PFE ), Teva Pharmaceutical ( TEVA ), Perrigo ( PRGO ), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories ( RDY ), and Boehringer Ingelheim.

The companies have faced thousands of lawsuits for alleged failure to adequately warn health risks of the antacid. A report from Bloomberg Businessweek in February, claimed that GSK chose to keep quiet on the cancer risks of Zantac.

In March, GSK said it disagreed with a California state court ruling in respect to the Goetz case related to Zantac. In December 2022, Sanofi and Pfizer had reached an agreement in a Zantac case in California that was set to go to trial, while GSK remained a defendant in the case.

Also last year, a federal judge in Florida ruled that GSK and Sanofi would not have to face thousands of lawsuits related to claims that Zantac allegedly cause cancer. GSK had noted that the court dismissed all Multi-District Litigation (MDL) cases alleging the five remaining cancers in the MDL.

GSK +1.38% to $36.78 premarket May 12

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