GSK Welcomes Canadian Court Decision to Dismiss Proposed Zantac Lawsuit

By Joe Hoppe

GSK said Friday that a proposed class action lawsuit surrounding a heartburn treatment that it had marketed has been dismissed by a court in Canada.

The pharma major said it welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court of British Columbia and that it will continue to vigorously defend proposed class actions filed in Ontario and Quebec by users of ranitidine, the active substance in heartburn medication Zantac.

In December, a U.S. judge dismissed a series of lawsuits--which were measured in the tens of thousands--that alleged Zantac could cause cancer. The judge concluded on Dec. 6 that there was no scientific evidence to support the claim that the drug's active substance ranitidine was carcinogenic.

In late March, the company said it disagreed with a ruling in the Goetz case by the California state to allow a plaintiff's experts to testify, and that there was no consistent or reliable evidence that ranitidine increased the risk of any cancer

GSK said Friday that since 2019, there have been 13 peer-reviewed studies conducted regarding the use of ranitidine. It said the scientific consensus is there is no consistent or reliable evidence the substance increases the risk for any type of cancer.

Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 12, 2023 03:09 ET (07:09 GMT)

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