Zantac - The Heartburn Medication on Trial

 

There's been much talk about the popular heartburn medication, Zantac (ranitidine) causing cancer after independent laboratory testing found that one ranitidine 150 mg tablet produced 304,500 nanograms (ng) of a cancer-causing substance called N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), an amount that greatly exceeds the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) daily acceptable intake limit of 96 ng.

After learning this, the FDA, in April 2020, requested Zantac be removed from the market.

Zantac is manufactured by many pharmaceutical companies, several of whom have recalled it, citing "safety concerns."

The following types of cancers have developed in some people who took the Zantac:

Bladder cancer

Esophageal cancer

Gastric cancer / stomach cancer

Liver cancer

Pancreatic cancer

Prostate cancer

Breast cancer

Lung cancer

Colon cancer

On September 15, 2022 , Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman, attorneys headquartered in Los Angeles, California, filed Zantac lawsuits on behalf of thousands of people throughout the country who allege exposure to ranitidine causes cancer. The filing of 88 complaints on behalf of 7,291 claimants is one of the largest on behalf of Zantac cancer victims in 2022.

Allegations against the defendants, namely, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Pfizer Inc, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Sanofi, include:

Failure to Warn 

Manufacturing Defect 

Negligent Product Design

Negligent Manufacturing

Negligent Misrepresentation

Baum Hedlund's press release states, "...the defendants knew that Zantac (ranitidine) could degrade into a potent human carcinogen, NDMA, in the regular course of transport and storage, and within the human body, but failed to take any action to prevent consumers from being exposed." Furthermore, they add, "...lawsuits maintain that Zantac’s manufacturers made billions selling a product they knew posed an unreasonable risk to consumers. If the drug manufacturers had disclosed and disseminated the cancer risks associated with Zantac and OTC ranitidine products, the plaintiffs say they could have avoided the risk of developing cancer by instead using alternative medications that do not pose the same risk."

Baum Hedlund's Brent Wisner also said, he believes the defendants in the Zantac litigation “deliberately misled consumers because they knew that full disclosure of Zantac’s risks would limit the amount of money they could make selling the drugs.” Adding, "They knew that concealing the truth would protect profits. Their deception led to an epidemic of cancer in this country, and we intend to hold them accountable.”

History shows that, between them, the defendants, above, have made settlements for various violations over the years of more than 20 billion dollars. Pfizer top that list with fines/settlements of over 10 billion dollars whilst GSK run a close second with fines/settlements of over 8 billion dollars.

It remains to be seen if those figures will be increased during or after these Zantac lawsuits.

Bob Fiddaman