GSK Settles Zantac Case Weeks Before Trial Was Set to Begin

GSK Plc has settled a US lawsuit on heartburn medicine Zantac just weeks before the case was due to be heard in a court in California.

The British drugmaker said it had reached a confidential settlement with David Browne and his case, which was set to go to trial on Feb. 20, will be dismissed.

GSK said the settlement reflected its desire to avoid any distraction related to protracted litigation. The company does not admit any liability and said it would continue to defend itself based on the facts and the science in all other Zantac cases.

GSK stock rose slightly in early trading in London. The stock is up more than 10% in the past year.

Former Zantac users who have sued GSK and other companies claim the drug’s active ingredient, ranitidine, degraded and turned into a potential carcinogen called NDMA under some conditions. The companies deny these claims.

Thursday’s announcement is the sixth case in California that GSK has settled. There are still roughly 3,000 cases remaining in California which involve GSK.

The vast majority of the remaining Zantac cases have been filed in Delaware. So-called Daubert hearings are underway which are designed to insure the science relied upon by experts who’ll testify at trial is legitimate. The outcome of these hearings could determine which cases can move forward to a trial.

In 2022, a Florida court rejected the scientific evidence behind claims that Zantac can cause various kinds of cancer, leading to the dismissal of thousands of cases.

Read More: GSK, Sanofi Surge as US Judge Dismisses Zantac Cases

News of the settlement “should help some of the distraction around Zantac further abate” for GSK which raised its long term outlook on Wednesday after strong results, Sean Conroy, an analyst at Shore Capital, wrote in a note to clients.

(Updates with additional information, shares, analyst comment.)

Top photo: Zantac pills. Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images.