GSK seeks dismissal of lawsuit against heartburn drug Zantac in Florida

(Reuters) – British pharmaceutical giant GSK said on Friday it would seek to dismiss a pending Zantac case in Florida in which plaintiffs claim the withdrawn heartburn drug caused prostate cancer.

The move followed a Florida court ruling on Thursday that favored GSK and other defendants. The ruling did not take into account expert testimony that ranitidine, the active ingredient in Zantac and generic versions of the drug, was a significant risk factor for prostate cancer in Wilson's case.

Other defendants include Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer and Sanofi, which sold the drug at different times.

GSK said the Florida court's decision mirrors a December 2022 federal court ruling that rejected all of the plaintiffs' expert evidence and dismissed all class action lawsuits for bladder, esophageal, stomach, liver or pancreatic cancer.

In June, a Delaware court allowed more than 70,000 lawsuits to proceed and allowed plaintiffs to present expert testimony that Zantac causes cancer. GSK has appealed that decision.

The majority of the more than 74,000 Zantac cases are in Delaware, four in Florida.

About five years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked manufacturers to remove the drug from the market because of concerns that ranitidine could break down over time or when exposed to heat into a chemical called NDMA.

GSK shares have fallen by almost 10 percent since the Delaware ruling in June. Analysts had estimated the total cost of the settlement for the company at around $5 billion.

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)