SNY - GSK stock falls after California court ruling on Zantac; company disagrees with decision

2023-03-24 07:29:58 ET

GSK ( NYSE: GSK ) said it disagrees with a California state court ruling in respect to the Goetz case related to the company's heartburn drug Zantac (ranitidine).

The British pharma giant said that after 13 epidemiological studies conducted looking at human data related the use of ranitidine, the scientific consensus was that there is no consistent or reliable evidence that ranitidine increases the risk of any cancer.

GSK noted that the lawsuit is still at an early stage and the decision relates only to the question of whether the plaintiff's experts can testify at trial in the Goetz case.

The company added that it does not mean that the court agrees with plaintiff’s experts' scientific conclusions.

GSK would press additional defenses and the plaintiff needs to prove his case at trial, according to the company.

GSK said that the ruling does not affect other state cases or the Daubert ruling in the federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in December 2022.

In December 2022, Sanofi ( SNY ) and Pfizer ( PFE ) 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.

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

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

Earlier in March 2023, Rep. Rosa DeLauro asked FDA Commissioner Robert Califf how the agency would hold GSK responsible for allegedly hiding cancer risks associated with its heartburn medication Zantac. According to a report in February, GSK's ( GSK ) own research indicated a year before approval in 1983 that Zantac could form the carcinogen NDMA under certain circumstances.

In August 2022, the companies overall shed millions of dollars in market value on concerns over Zantac litigation.

GSK -4.06% to $33.79 premarket March 24

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