GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has agreed to a settlement of up to $2.2 billion to resolve roughly 80,000 lawsuits claiming that the heartburn medication Zantac caused cancer. The settlement covers approximately 93% of pending cases and includes a $70 million payout for a whistleblower lawsuit involving a Connecticut laboratory.

While GSK denies any wrongdoing and maintains that there is "no consistent or reliable evidence" linking Zantac’s active ingredient, ranitidine, to cancer, the company believes settling these cases is in its best long-term interests to avoid further litigation. Zantac, once a top-selling drug worldwide, was pulled from the market in 2020 after the FDA raised concerns about its potential to form the carcinogen NDMA.

Other pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Sanofi, have also settled related Zantac lawsuits, while Boehringer Ingelheim continues to face legal battles