Yahoo TV

STORY: GSK will seek a dismissal of an upcoming case against it in Florida.

Plaintiffs have alleged the discontinued heart burn drug Zantac had caused prostate cancer.

The move followed a Florida court ruling on Thursday (August 15) in favor of GSK and other defendants.

The ruling excluded testimony from experts that ranitidine was a key risk factor for prostate cancer in the Florida case.

Ranitidine is the active ingredient in Zantac and generic versions of the drug.

Other defendants include Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer and Sanofi, which sold the drug at different times.

GSK said the Florida court decision echoed a December 2022 federal court ruling which rejected all expert evidence by the plaintiffs.

But in June, a Delaware court ruling permitted more than 70,000 lawsuits to go forward.

It also allowed plaintiffs to present expert testimony that Zantac causes cancer.

GSK is appealing that decision.

The majority of the more than 74,000 Zantac cases are in Delaware, and four are in Florida.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked manufacturers to pull the drug off the market about five years ago.

It was over concerns ranitidine could degrade into a chemical called NDMA over time or when exposed to heat.

GSK shares have fallen nearly a tenth since the Delaware decision in June.

Analysts had estimated total settlement costs for the company of around $5 billion.