Shares of pharmaceutical company GSK (NYSE: GSK) -- formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline -- are down 9.4% as of 2:01 p.m. ET Thursday, according to data from S&P Global market Intelligence , up slightly from an early intraday loss of 9.9%. The sell-off stems from reports of potential litigation regarding ulcer and acid reflux treatment ranitidine, better known as Zantac.
After being sold for years, Zantac and other brand names of ranitidine were removed from the U.S. market by the FDA in early 2020 due to concerns the treatment could cause cancer. For the better part of the two years since then, neither investors nor consumers thought little more about it, perhaps distracted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the first of several lawsuits set to begin trials later this month, though, analysts are voicing more and more pessimism. UBS Group analyst Laura Sutcliffe commented in a note, "We do not have a view on the likelihood or magnitude of a potentially negative outcome for Sanofi at this stage, but we do think that even not knowing will be enough to deter some investors."
For further details see:
Why GSK Is So Deep in the Red Today