GSK resolved a group of claims in California over heartburn medication Zantac. But the company is hardly out of the woods in the wide-ranging litigation.
The pharma giant did not reveal terms of its settlements, calling them “confidential.”
One case was set to go to trial on Nov. 13, over Zantac, which was ordered off the market by the FDA in 2020 as GSK and other drugmakers faced claims that the treatment contained a cancer-causing agent.
In the same release, the company also said it had agreed to resolve three bellwether breast cancer cases in California from former users of Zantac.
“The settlements reflect the company's desire to avoid the distraction related to protracted litigation,” GSK said in its statement. “GSK does not admit any liability in the settlements and will continue to vigorously defend itself based on the facts and the science in all other Zantac cases.”
In July, GSK settled another California Zantac claim, with James Goetz who developed bladder cancer.
With the resolution, GSK avoided a jury trial that could have guided future cases in the state. Other former sellers of Zantac, Pfizer and Sanofi, had already settled with Goetz in December of last year.
As GSK settles individual cases in California, the company is gearing up for a tidal wave of Zantac litigation in Delaware, where approximately 75,000 cases are outstanding.