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STORY: GSK on Wednesday (October 11) said it had reached a settlement in a U.S. lawsuit…

Which alleged the drugmaker’s discontinued heartburn medication Zantac caused cancer.

GSK said the trial for the Cantlay/Harper case, which was set to begin on November 13, will now be dismissed.

It has also settled three remaining breast cancer cases in California related to the same drug.

First approved in 1983, Zantac became the world's best selling medicine in 1988.

And it became one of the first-ever drugs to top $1 billion in annual sales.

It was later sold successively to Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim and finally Sanofi.

Those companies also face lawsuits over the drug.

U.S. regulators in 2020 pulled all brand-name Zantac and generic versions off the market, triggering a wave of lawsuits.

GSK on Wednesday said the settlement reflected its "desire to avoid distraction related to protracted litigation."

It did not admit any liability, and said it would vigorously defend itself in any other Zantac cases.