After a two-week trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County in Illinois, a jury found that plaintiff Carrie Joiner’s colorectal cancer was not caused by her 15-year use of Zantac, a popular heartburn medication manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). This is the second trial in three months to result in a verdict in favor of defendant GSK and, in that earlier May case, co-defendant Boehringer Ingelheim.
In a statement after the verdict, GSK wrote that it
“welcome(d) today’s jury verdict in the Joiner case in Illinois state court finding in GSK’s favour. This outcome is consistent with the scientific consensus that there is no consistent or reliable evidence that ranitidine increases the risk of any cancer, supported by 16 epidemiological studies looking at human data regarding the use of ranitidine. GSK will continue to vigorously defend itself against all other claims.”
The win for GSK comes shortly after the company negotiated a settlement with another Illinois plaintiff in a separate Zantac trial that had been scheduled to start in the same court.
Ms. Joiner had argued that NDMA, a carcinogenic component of Zantac and its generic equivalent, ranitidine, caused her cancer. She further argued that GSK was at fault for failing to warn both doctors and consumers of the risks inherent in taking Zantac and was negligent in the development and sale of the drug.
In a separate trial in Cook County Illinois against Boehringer Ingelheim that began on July 19, another plaintiff claimed that his decades long daily use of over-the-counter Zantac caused him to develop prostate cancer. After deliberating for over four days following a two-week trial, the jury advised the court that they were deadlocked 8-4 and without additional evidence had reached an impasse. In that case, the plaintiff, Martin Gross, accused Boehringer of ignoring signs that Zantac’s active ingredient was capable of degrading into NDMA, resulting in his being diagnosed with cancer in 2016. He also alleged that Beoehringer knew long before 2016 that NDMA was appearing in their medication.
Zantac was first approved in the U.S. in 1983 and by 1988 was the world’s best-selling medication. GSK has maintained that Zantac is safe and never caused cancer.
Defendants GSK, Boehringer, Pfizer and Sanofi at one time each sold Zantac and are currently facing over 70,000 lawsuits, most filed in Delaware state court after a judge ruled in June that plaintiffs’ expert witnesses can present evidence in the cases. By contrast, in December 2022 the Florida judge presiding over the Federal MDL dismissed nearly 50,000 cases on the basis that the plaintiffs’ claims were not supported by reliable science.
Resources
https://www.law360.com/illinois/articles/1866682/gsk-wins-second-ill-trial-on-zantac-cancer-claims
https://www.law360.com/articles/1859550/gsk-boehringer-face-jurors-again-on-zantac-cancer-claims
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/03/gsk-plunges-after-us-court-makes-zantac-ruling.html
