Emma Walmsley relief after GSK settles cancer suit

GlaxoSmithKline has settled a lawsuit with a claimant who alleged that its blockbuster heartburn medication Zantac caused his cancer.

GSK and James Goetz reached a confidential settlement, the pharmaceuticals firm revealed yesterday.

The decision is also a relief for boss Emma Walmsley who has been under pressure since consumer healthcare group Haleon was spun off from GSK last year.

GSK isn’t admitting any liable. The firm said last year the allegations were ‘meritless’ and 11 studies shows there is no cancer risk in the drug.

Goetz sued GSK after the drug was found in 2019 to contain a probable carcinogen called NDMA.

US watchdogs forced Zantac and its generic versions off the market in 2020 after determining that NDMA hadn’t been introduced into the drug, but formed in the medication itself.