Zantac Settles 4,000 Lawsuits in U.S. Courts

Zantac Settles 4,000 Lawsuits in U.S. Courts

Introduction

Sanofi has announced a settlement agreement regarding approximately 4,000 Zantac cancer lawsuits filed in state courts across the country.

However, the pharmaceutical company still faces tens of thousands of other claims related to the recalled heartburn drug that are pending in Delaware.

Zantac (ranitidine) was widely used by millions of Americans to treat heartburn and acid reflux until a recall was issued in late 2019 due to concerns about the instability of ranitidine, which can lead to the formation of high levels of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a potent human carcinogen.

Despite the settlement, several companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer Ingelheim Pfizer, and Sanofi, along with various other manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, are still contesting over 70,000 Zantac lawsuits in state courts nationwide, with the majority filed in Delaware. Approximately 20,000 of these Delaware claims name Sanofi as a defendant, alleging that former users developed bladder cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, and other injuries after taking Zantac.

Sanofi has reached a preliminary agreement to resolve thousands of claims pending outside of Delaware state courts. However, specific settlement details have not been disclosed, and the company intends to continue fighting the remaining litigation.

Initially, Zantac litigation was consolidated in the federal court system, centralized before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings. However, in 2022, a judge's ruling excluded all plaintiffs' expert witnesses from testifying at trial under federal evidentiary rules, leaving federal plaintiffs unable to prove that Zantac pills caused their cancer. As a result, all Zantac lawsuits in the federal court system were dismissed. Yet, this ruling did not impact lawsuits filed in California, Delaware, and other state courts, where different standards for the admissibility of expert witness testimony apply.

Currently, the Delaware Superior Court is considering whether Zantac cases in the state should be dismissed on similar grounds as the federal cases. This decision could determine whether the majority of Zantac lawsuits in Delaware proceed. Although the judge may apply the same legal standards as the federal court, the outcome remains uncertain, as the Delaware cases involve different expert witnesses.

Sanofi's settlement announcement follows GlaxoSmithKline's resolution of several Zantac lawsuits in California state court before trial. GlaxoSmithKline settled two Zantac cases in February and another in November, asserting its intention to defend itself against the remaining lawsuits. However, the company faces additional Zantac lawsuits scheduled for trial in California in the upcoming months.

While the outcomes of these trials will not directly impact other Zantac cancer lawsuits nationwide, they will be closely monitored to assess how juries respond to evidence and testimony that could be repeated in tens of thousands of trials across the country.