GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has reached a significant settlement agreement to pay up to $2.2 billion (£1.7 billion) to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits in the United States claiming that its heartburn medication Zantac caused cancer. The settlement deal was finalized with 10 law firms representing over 90% of the claims, with approximately 80,000 cases expected to be resolved. Each plaintiff could receive around $27,500 as part of this settlement [3b47f611].
Despite agreeing to this settlement, GSK maintains that there is no reliable evidence linking ranitidine, the active ingredient in Zantac, to cancer. The company has faced significant legal uncertainties since Zantac was pulled from the market in 2019 due to concerns over a cancer-causing ingredient [3b47f611].
The settlement also includes an additional $70 million allocated for a separate complaint, indicating the breadth of legal challenges GSK has faced regarding this medication. Morgan Stanley has estimated that the potential costs related to these lawsuits could reach up to $30 billion, reflecting the scale of the issue and its impact on GSK's financial outlook [3b47f611].
GSK's share price has been affected by these ongoing legal uncertainties, even as the company reports strong sales in other areas of its pharmaceutical business. The resolution of these lawsuits is expected to provide some relief for GSK as it navigates the complexities of the pharmaceutical landscape and the associated legal risks [3b47f611].