GSK Zantac Appeal Gets Tough Questions From Some US Judges
Zantac hit the US market as a prescription drug in 1983 before transforming into an over-the-counter heartburn treatment in 1995.
Photographer: Gabby Jones/BloombergSome Delaware Supreme Court justices signaled they may be skeptical of a bid by GSK Plc, Pfizer Inc. and other drugmakers to overturn a judge who allowed more than 80,000 lawsuits to proceed to trial over claims that the heartburn drug Zantac is linked to cancer.
The state’s highest court on Wednesday heard lawyers for the companies attack the findings of Superior Court Judge Vivian Medinilla, who ruled last year that scientific evidence backing the claims was legitimate and could be heard by juries. The companies contend Medinilla didn’t property scrutinize the methodologies of certain expert witnesses, who found the medication could cause cancer if stored improperly.