2 Cook County lawsuits over Zantac cancer claims settled, 1 case dropped

Three lawsuits alleging the heartburn drug Zantac causes cancer were recently settled or dropped in Cook County.

Two Illinois residents reached confidential settlements with the pharmaceutical company GSK. Another person dropped her case in early June. The drugmaker manufactured and sold Zantac for several years and has maintained that the heartburn medication is safe and effective.

All three complaints allege the drug was responsible for the plaintiffs' cancer. Thousands of people have filed similar lawsuits across the country. GSK admitted no liability in either of the settlements.

"Following the 16 epidemiological studies looking at human data regarding the use of ranitidine, the scientific consensus is that there is no consistent or reliable evidence that ranitidine increases the risk of any cancer," the company said in a statement.

"GSK will continue to vigorously defend itself and manage this litigation in the best interests of the company and shareholders."

An Illinois woman, who says in her suit she took Zantac for 22 years, dropped her case in early June alleging the drug caused her breast cancer. Later that month, an Illinois man settled with GSK after filing a suit claiming Zantac was responsible for his prostate cancer after taking the drug for four years.

On Monday, another Illinois man, also alleging his prostate cancer was caused by taking Zantac for roughly 24 years, settled with the drugmaker.

The first jury trial to determine if Zantac causes cancer happened in Cook County in May. An 89-year-old Brookfield woman sued GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim, another drugmaker that sold Zantac. She alleged that taking the drug for 18 years was a cause of her colon cancer.

After hearing three weeks of testimony and arguments, the jury determined the drug was not the cause of her cancer and found neither company liable. The woman sought $640 million in damages.

The crux of her argument and the claims made in the other suits is that the active ingredient in Zantac, called ranitidine, degrades into the cancer-causing substance NDMA, or nitrosodimethylamine.

In 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked drugmakers to pull Zantac and its generics off the market after NDMA was found in samples of the drug. Thousands of lawsuits started piling up in federal and state courts.

The FDA later found there was no danger posed to Zantac users, but the drug has remained off the market since. A different version of the heartburn medicine, called Zantac 360, is currently sold, but it does not contain ranitidine.