Drugmaker GSK settles California lawsuit on Zantac

GSK on Wednesday said it had reached a confidential settlement on a litigation in California alleging that the British drugmaker's discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer.

The trial for the Cantlay/Harper case, which was set to begin on November 13, will now be dismissed, GSK said, adding it had also settled three remaining breast cancer bellwether cases in California related to the same drug.

First approved in 1983, Zantac became the world's best-selling medicine in 1988 and one of the first-ever drugs to top $1 billion in annual sales.

Originally marketed by a forerunner of GSK, it was later sold successively to Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim and finally Sanofi. Those companies also face lawsuits over the drug. The FDA in 2020 pulled all brand name Zantac and generic versions off the market, triggering a wave of lawsuits.

GSK on Wednesday said the settlement reflected its "desire to avoid distraction related to protracted litigation." It did not admit any liability and said it would vigorously defend itself in any other Zantac cases.

Late in June, GSK agreed to settle a similar lawsuit with California resident James Goetz who alleged he developed bladder cancer from taking Zantac. The trial was due to start on July 24.