Pfizer Inc. has reached a settlement in over 10,000 lawsuits alleging the company concealed the cancer risks associated with its acid reflux medication, Zantac. According to a Bloomberg report, insiders familiar with the matter disclosed that the financial terms of the agreements remain undisclosed.
The settlements cover various state courts across the US but do not entirely absolve the company of its liability for Zantac-related claims. Zantac, a widely used antacid for over three decades, has had multiple owners, including GlaxoSmithKline and Warner-Lambert, who initially developed the drug.
It was first introduced as a prescription medication in 1983 and later became an over-the-counter heartburn treatment in 1996. Sanofi acquired the drug in 2017 but recalled it in 2019 after an independent laboratory detected a potential carcinogen, NDMA, in the drug and its generics.
Research revealed that the active ingredient, ranitidine, formed NDMA over time or at high temperatures. Following confirmation, the US Food and Drug Administration ordered the removal of all Zantac versions from the market in 2020.
However, Sanofi has since re-released Zantac with a new active ingredient, famotidine, replacing the original ranitidine, which is also found in the competing heartburn drug Pepcid.
In a statement, Pfizer mentioned, that it “has explored and will continue to explore opportunistic settlements of certain cases if appropriate, and has settled certain cases.
“The company has not sold a Zantac product in more than 15 years and did so only for a limited period of time.”
-The agreement is expected to reassure investors who have witnessed other Zantac manufacturers, such as GSK Plc and Sanofi, settling lawsuits. Concerns regarding potential lawsuits had caused a significant decrease in market value during the summer of 2022, but shares have since recovered and increased with news of previous settlements. As of 11:55 a.m. in New York, Pfizer shares had risen by 1.5% to $28.19.
-Recent reports revealed that Sanofi has agreed to pay over $100 million to settle around 4,000 Zantac cases. Meanwhile, GSK is currently facing its first US jury trial regarding allegations that it was aware of Zantac’s health risks. Despite claims of corporate greed leading to a plaintiff’s colorectal cancer, GSK’s defense argued that no scientific studies have linked Zantac to the disease.
The case, approved for trial by a Chicago judge on April 29, only applies to GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, as Pfizer had already settled. Previous reports by Bloomberg Businessweek have also highlighted GSK’s knowledge of potential risks associated with Zantac, as warned by its own scientists and independent researchers for multiple decades.
The FDA, while considering the risks, ultimately approved Zantac in 1983. Bloomberg’s investigation also revealed that GSK supported tainted research aimed at downplaying risks and did not make any changes to mitigate the issue in the drug’s supply chain or storage procedures.
