Delaware Court to Hear Appeal on Zantac Lawsuits

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) – Delaware’s highest court announced on Tuesday it will consider an appeal from GSK and other pharmaceutical companies aiming to terminate over 70,000 lawsuits that claim the discontinued heartburn medication Zantac is linked to cancer.

GSK, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY), and Boehringer Ingelheim have requested the court to reverse a lower court decision that permits plaintiffs to present expert witnesses regarding the alleged cancer connection, a stance the companies contest, citing a lack of sound scientific methodology.

Zantac was initially approved by U.S. regulators in 1983, becoming the world’s top-selling drug by 1988 and one of the earliest to exceed $1 billion in annual sales. Over time, all four companies have sold Zantac and have faced numerous lawsuits.

The legal challenges emerged after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2020 instructed manufacturers to withdraw the drug, citing concerns that ranitidine, the active ingredient, could convert into NDMA, a known carcinogen, under certain conditions.

To date, three cases involving Zantac have been tried, with two resulting in defense verdicts and one ending with a hung jury.