GSK Triumphs in Zantac Cancer Lawsuit

GSK has won a court case where it was alleged that its discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer. The jury found no link between the drug and the illness of an Illinois woman. The majority of lawsuits related to Zantac are ongoing in various courts across the United States.

GSK has emerged victorious in a trial centered on claims that the now-discontinued heartburn medication, Zantac, was carcinogenic. A jury determined on Monday that the drug did not cause an Illinois woman's illness, according to a company spokesperson.

In her lawsuit filed in Chicago state court, Carrie Joiner alleged that she developed colorectal cancer due to an NDMA contaminant found in Zantac. Joiner's lawyer remains unavailable for comment on the ruling.

First approved in 1983 and once a top-selling drug, Zantac was marketed by several companies, including GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Boehringer Ingelheim. Despite being pulled from the market by the FDA in 2020, these companies are still facing thousands of lawsuits across the U.S., particularly in Delaware, where a judge recently allowed over 70,000 cases to proceed. Previously, in 2022, a federal judge in Florida dismissed 50,000 similar cases due to insufficient scientific evidence linking the drug to cancer.

(With inputs from agencies.)