In a significant victory for pharmaceutical giant GSK plc (GSK), a Florida State Court has ruled in their favor, dismissing expert testimony that claimed ranitidine, a drug once sold under the Zantac brand, was a significant risk factor for prostate cancer. The court deemed the expert testimony unreliable, reinforcing the broader scientific consensus that ranitidine does not pose a consistent or reliable cancer risk.
This decision aligns with a December 2022 ruling by Judge Rosenberg in the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL), which also dismissed expert evidence presented by plaintiffs alleging a link between ranitidine and several cancers, including bladder, esophageal, gastric, liver, and pancreatic cancers. Both the Florida and MDL courts concluded that the methodologies used by plaintiffs’ experts did not meet the Daubert standard, a crucial legal benchmark for scientific evidence.
The scientific consensus, based on 16 epidemiological studies examining ranitidine use, consistently shows no reliable evidence linking the drug to cancer risk. The Florida State Court’s ruling reflects this stance and safeguards against what GSK argues is “litigation-driven” science from entering legal proceedings.
GSK welcomed the ruling, stating they would now seek the dismissal of the upcoming Wilson case in Florida, where similar allegations about ranitidine and prostate cancer had been made. Earlier this month, a jury in the Joiner case in Illinois state court found GSK not liable for the plaintiff’s colorectal cancer. In July, GSK reached a confidential settlement with Ronald Kimbrow, resolving the case he filed in Illinois state court. GSK does not admit any liability in this settlement. The case was dismissed.
According to a May report, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) settled 10,000 lawsuits alleging it concealed the cancer risks associated with its Zantac heartburn medication, marking the largest resolution in the litigation. In April, Sanofi SA (SNY) announced an agreement in principle to settle approximately 4,000 lawsuits in the U.S. linked to the discontinued heartburn drug Zantac.
GSK stock was down 0.56% at $41.17 during the premarket session at last check Friday.
