GSK Reaches Confidential Settlement in California Over Zantac Cancer Lawsuits

British pharmaceutical manufacturerGlaxoSmithKline PLC.(GSK.US) said on Wednesday that it had reached a confidential settlement in a lawsuit filed in California. The lawsuit alleged that GlaxoSmithKline's discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer.

GSK stated that the settlement reflects the company's "desire to avoid distraction from prolonged litigation." The company does not admit any liability and says it will vigorously defend itself in any other Zantac cases.

GSK added that the trial originally set for November 13 would be dismissed. Additionally, the company has settled the remaining three landmark breast cancer cases related to the same drug in California.

Data shows that Zantac was first approved in 1983 and became the world's best-selling drug in 1988, as well as one of the first drugs to achieve annual sales exceeding $1 billion. Zantac was initially marketed by a predecessor of GSK but has been sold by several companies at different times, includingPfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, andSanofi, and a large number of generic drug manufacturers.

Due to concerns that the concentration of the impurity N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in Zantac could increase beyond acceptable human intake levels, posing a cancer risk, thousands of lawsuits have been filed by users against manufacturers including GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi, and several generic drug producers, alleging that the drug caused cancer.

Editor: Guo Mingyu