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

The Unscrupulous Activities of Monsanto (Video)

A fascinating insight into the unscrupulous activities of Monsanto is doing the rounds on YouTube.

The show, The HighWire, hosted by Del Bigtree, invited Baum Hedlund's Lead and co-counsel, Brent Wisner and Robert F. Kennedy Jr into the studio to discuss the recent $289 million verdict against Monsanto.

The success for the plaintiff, Dewayne Johnson, will be short-lived as the former groundskeeper has terminal cancer and is, sadly, expected to die soon. The victory could set a massive precedent for thousands of other cases against Monsanto. I hope they name a law after Johnson, his courage to step up to the plate and take on the unethical and immoral Goliath needs to be remembered...forever.

Monsanto, as expected, has appealed the verdict.

The interview starts at 38.40 and features, amongst other revelations, jaw-dropping internal emails from Monsanto employees who wanted to keep the cancer link 'in-house' rather than tell an unsuspecting public.

Bob Fiddaman

If you have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after being exposed to Roundup weed killer and would like more information about whether you might have a potential Roundup lawsuit, please contact a personal injury attorney at Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman

Jennifer Saunders Side Effects/Depression Battle

I read with sadness today that Jennifer Saunders, the British comedienne and writer, has been having treatment for breast cancer.

As a man I will never quite understand the range of emotions a woman must go through whilst receiving treatment for this illness.

What concerned me about her Harley Street treatment was the use of two drugs.

Tamoxifen and citalopram.

According to The Daily Mail the side-effects of Tamoxifen pushed Jennifer into menopause, which she likened to ‘jumping off a cliff’.

The Daily Mail writes:

She will continue to take tamoxifen, which works by blocking the female hormone oestrogen, for five years but admitted it had left her feeling depressed and unable to get out of bed.

The mother-of-three, who was diagnosed last year, said: ‘You are pushed into menopause like jumping off a cliff… bang!’

She also revealed she was put on anti-depressants after chemotherapy.

Jennifer was given a course of the SSRi citalopram [Cipramil] - I find this astounding.

Back in 2009, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 45th Annual Meeting, it was revealed that patients who are taking tamoxifen to reduce their risk for breast cancer recurrence should avoid concomitant use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, of which citalopram is one.

SSRi's are potent inhibitors of the cytochrome P450 2D6 enzyme that converts tamoxifen to its active metabolite, endoxifen. By inhibiting the enzyme, these drugs reduce the blood levels of this active metabolite, and so reduce the efficacy of tamoxifen in protecting against breast cancer recurrence.

I'm a big fan of Saunders and her husband Ade Edmonson, I grew up with them. I hope that, at some point, the Harley Street specialists who prescribed Jennifer citalopram can refer to the studies out there that suggest that SSRi's and Taoxifen should not be mixed.

Daily Mail article HERE


**British drug regulators, the MHRA, post drug safety warning regarding Tamoxifen and SSRi medication [2010] HERE

** Listen to the audio recording of when two Irish parents met citalopram manufacturer Lundbeck to pose questions about the safety and efficacy of their product HERE