While GSK agrees to pay $3.2 billion to end a series of cases alleging that its heartburn drug Zantac could have caused cancer, Jean Coutu confirms that this product is no longer on sale. its tablets since the 2019 recall.
GSK announced Thursday that it had reached agreements with around ten American law firms, representing more than 80,000 plaintiffs, according to AFP.
Ranitidine, known as Zantac, was previously used for heartburn and was available over the counter here and to our neighbors to the south.
This drug had been manufactured and marketed by numerous laboratories, including the British GSK and the French Sanofi, before being withdrawn in 2019.
A cascade of class actions and legal actions were filed in the United States after the United States Medicines Agency (FDA) warned that certain drugs with low levels of an environmental contaminant (NDMA) could be considered “(probably) carcinogenic”.
Dispute not over
In Canada, a judge had already rejected a request for authorization of a class action, mentions the McCarthy Tétrault team, which represented Sanofi, on its website.
“The litigation in this case is not over and the decision is now the subject of an appeal,” the firm already noted, in May 2023, specifying that Sanofi was “voluntarily withdrawing Zantac from the market.”
At the Association of Pharmacists of Health Establishments of Quebec (APES), it is indicated that “Zantac, the original drug, as well as generic versions marketed by different manufacturers, were the subject of batch recalls during in recent years due to the presence of NDMA.
“In Canada, the drug is available by consultation only. Versions previously available over the counter (lower dosages) are no longer available. However, we cannot make a link between this withdrawal and the presence of NDMA in the manufacture of the drug,” concludes France Bouffard, spokesperson for APES.
The Journal was unable to obtain further details from GSK and Sanofi on Thursday.
– With the collaboration of Gabriel Côté and the AFP
