US jury rules heartburn drug did not cause cancer in woman, giving GlaxoSmithKline a boost

A US jury has given GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) a boost by ruling that its discontinued heartburn drug did not cause cancer in a woman.

The UK pharmaceutical giant prevailed when it ruled that Zantac was not responsible for an Illinois patient’s illness.

The victory is another boost for GSK as it looks to continue its recovery.

Carrie Joiner told a Chicago court that she developed colorectal cancer due to a carcinogenic contaminant called NDMA found in Zantac.

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman described the win as an “important step” for the FTSE 100 drugmaker.

He added: “This is the second Illinois jury trial where they have sided with GSK and found no evidence to support a link between Zantac and cancer, and as each of these dominoes falls, the odds of GSK settling cheaply in other states increase.”

GSK’s first court victory came in May, but thousands of lawsuits have been filed with similar allegations about Zantac.

Other pharmaceutical companies involved in lawsuits include Pfizer, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim. Zantac was the world’s best-selling drug in 1988 and one of the first to surpass $1 billion in annual sales.

GSK’s predecessor, Glaxo Wellcome, developed the drug but later sold the brand to other companies.

The latest win will be a reassuring sign for chief executive Emma Walmsley as she presses ahead with her turnaround strategy at the pharmaceutical giant.

Last week, the company posted second-quarter sales up 8 percent to £15.25 billion, helped by cancer and HIV treatments, while profits rose 18 percent to £2.5 billion.

In 2024, Walmsley spun off consumer healthcare division Haleon to focus on vaccines and infectious diseases.

The change came after GSK fell behind AstraZeneca and Pfizer in creating a Covid vaccine during the pandemic.

But last week, GSK investors were spooked when the company cut sales forecasts for its vaccines division.

This was another setback for GSK. Almost £5bn was wiped off its value in June after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US national public health agency, said its successful respiratory vaccine against RSV should not be given to people under 60.

GSK shares fell 1.7 percent, or 25.5 pence, to 1,521.5 pence.