GSK settles another lawsuit on heartburn drug Zantac in California

FILE PHOTO: Zantac heartburn pills are seen in this picture illustration taken October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Illustration/File Photo/

(Reuters) – GSK agreed to confidentially settle another lawsuit in California that had alleged its discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, the latest in a series of settlements made by the British drugmaker to end costly litigation.

The case, which was set to begin trial on April 2, will be dismissed. GSK does not admit to any liability in this settlement with Boyd/Steenvoord, it said on Thursday.

This follows similar Zantac settlements since June last year, including several in California. GSK still faces thousands of lawsuits in the states of California and Delaware in the U.S.

California is generally seen as a more challenging legal environment for multinational companies, as courts are known to be friendlier to plaintiffs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2020 pulled all brands named Zantac and generic versions of the drug off the market, triggering a wave of lawsuits.

The drug, approved over four decades ago, had became the world’s best selling medicine in 1988 and one of the first-ever drugs to top $1 billion in annual sales.

Analysts had estimated total settlement costs for the company of around $5 billion. GSK has not yet quantified the costs of these settlements.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Yadarisa Shabong; Editing by Rashmi Aich)