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(Alliance News) - GSK PLC on Friday said a Zantac trial set to begin next month in California has been dismissed after it reached a confidential settlement.
GSK shares were up 3.7% at 1,408.85 pence each in London on Friday morning.
The London-based pharmaceutical company's settlement with James Goetz, a California resident who claimed the heartburn drug Zantac caused him to develop cancer, reflects GSK's "desire to avoid distraction related to protracted litigation".
GSK noted the settlement is not an admission of any liability, and it will continue to "vigorously defend itself based on the facts and the science in all other Zantac cases".
Zantac was launched in the US as a prescription medication by GSK in 1983. In 1995, GSK launched an over-the-counter version of its Zantac 75 mg formula. In 1997, generic ranitidine entered the market.
In 1998, US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer Inc acquired the over-the-counter rights and in 2004 it launched a 150mg version of the product as well. In 2006, Boehringer Ingelheim acquired the US OTC rights for Zantac and in January 2017 French firm Sanofi SA acquired those OTC rights.
Zantac fears came to the fore last summer, hurting share prices for the likes of Pfizer, GSK and consumer healthcare spin-off Haleon PLC.
In its listing prospectus, Haleon mentioned Zantac litigation as a risk. It noted GSK and Pfizer, its former owners, were named as a defendant in roughly 2,150 US "personal injury lawsuits involving Zantac".
By Sabrina Penty, Alliance News reporter
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