GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi Escape Litigation Over Zantac

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USA – Drugmakers on Tuesday defeated thousands of lawsuits in U.S. Federal Court claiming the heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, as a judge found the claims were not backed by sound science.

While the companies, which have all marketed the drug at different times, still face tens of thousands of similar lawsuits in state courts, the ruling by U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg in West Palm Beach, Florida, knocks out a significant portion of their potential liability.

Zantac, first approved in 1983, became the world’s best-selling medicine in 1988 and one of the first-ever drugs to top $1 billion in annual sales.