The Blubber

Pfizer, $PFE, has agreed to settle more than 10,000 cases accusing it of hiding the cancer risks of its Zantac heartburn drug.

Pfizer Inc. has reached a settlement in more than 10,000 cases alleging it concealed the cancer risks of its Zantac heartburn medication, marking the largest resolution in this litigation, according to sources familiar with the agreement.

The settlements pertain to cases in various state courts across the United States but do not fully resolve Pfizer's exposure to Zantac-related claims. The financial terms of these settlements were not immediately disclosed, and the sources requested anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the settlement publicly.

The deal is expected to reassure investors, who witnessed other Zantac manufacturers, such as GSK Plc and Sanofi, entering into settlements. Concerns about potential liabilities from Zantac lawsuits had led to a combined market value decline of around $45 billion in the summer of 2022 for these companies. However, their shares have since rebounded and have reacted positively to news of these settlements.

"Pfizer has explored and will continue to explore opportunistic settlements of certain cases if appropriate, and has settled certain cases," the New York-based company stated in an email. "The company has not sold a Zantac product in more than 15 years and did so only for a limited period of time."

Last month, Bloomberg News reported that Sanofi agreed to pay over $100 million to resolve approximately 4,000 Zantac cases. Zantac has been under the ownership of various pharmaceutical companies during its more than 30-year tenure as one of the most popular antacids in the United States.

These settlements coincide with GSK's defense in its first US jury trial over allegations that it knew about Zantac's serious risks. During the opening statements on May 2 in Chicago, the plaintiff's attorney attributed his client's colorectal cancer to corporate greed, while GSK's attorney informed the jurors that no scientific studies have established a link between Zantac and the disease, which affects millions of Americans annually.

GSK has also settled some Zantac cases before they could proceed to trial.

News of Pfizer's settlement emerged in a filing in a Delaware state court connected to the Chicago trial. In Delaware, where more than 70,000 Zantac lawsuits have been filed, a judge is currently evaluating whether the scientific evidence supporting these cases is strong enough to warrant trials.