Sanofi to Settle About 4,000 Suits Over Zantac Cancer Claims
Source: Bloomberg
April 3, 2024 at 4:31 PM EDT
Updated on April 3, 2024 at 5:41 PM EDT
Sanofi SA said it has agreed to settle approximately 4,000 lawsuits accusing the French drugmaker of selling its Zantac heartburn medicine without warning patients that it could cause cancer.
The pact, the first major resolution of cases related to the product, will apply to litigation pending in courts in states other than Delaware, the company said in a statement. Earlier, people familiar with the negotiations told Bloomberg that as many as 5,000 cases could eventually be covered by the deal.
The settlement should help soothe the jangled nerves of investors, whose concerns about Sanofi’s and other drugmakers’ exposure to Zantac suits helped wipe out about $45 billion in market value from the companies’ stock in the summer of 2022. The companies’ shares have since recovered.
The Paris-based company said that it continues to believe that the claims don’t have merit and that it reached the settlement to avoid the expense of litigation. Sanofi wouldn’t comment on how much will pay out under the accord, but said the amount won’t have a material impact on its finances.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-03/sanofi-agrees-to-settle-about-5-000-zantac-cancer-suits-in-us?srnd=homepage-americas