GSK, Sanofi, Haleon Shares Recover Some Recent Losses After Zantac Drug Responses
12 August 2022 - 6:48PM
Dow Jones News
By Sabela Ojea and Ian Walker
Shares in GSK PLC, Sanofi and Haleon PLC all rose on
Friday--recouping some of their losses over the past few
days--after the companies issued statements responding to recent
comments related to the U.S. lawsuits over discontinued heartburn
drug Zantac.
Shares of GSK are currently trading 2.0% higher at 1,427.60
pence, Sanofi 0.4% higher at EUR85.18 and Haleon 0.3% higher at
266.70 pence.
Shares in all three companies have fallen in double-digit levels
since Tuesday after a number of analyst notes highlighted the
potential exposure the companies faced as part of the
litigation.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank said some "billions of dollar
magnitude" liabilities could be incurred while analysts at Credit
Suisse noted that Haleon's prospectus says indemnification "may"
include liabilities from Zantac.
Responding to the comments, GSK said there has been no material
developments to that previously disclosed. It added that the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency had all
independently concluded there was no evidence of a causal
association between ranitidine therapy and the development of
cancer.
"The overwhelming weight of the scientific evidence supports the
conclusion that there is no increased cancer risk associated with
the use of ranitidine. Suggestions to the contrary are therefore
inconsistent with the science, and GSK will vigorously defend
itself against all meritless claims alleging otherwise," GSK
said.
Haleon PLC said it hasn't been notified about potential negative
implications of U.S. lawsuits over discontinued heartburn drug
Zantac.
The consumer-healthcare business, which was spun out of GSK PLC
and is partly owned by Pfizer Inc., said it isn't a party to any of
the Zantac claims and that it never marketed the drug in any form
in the U.S.
Sanofi has reiterated previous comments that it remains
confident in its defenses to the litigation and stands by the
safety of the medicine. It said the first trial, where it may be a
defendant to, is currently scheduled for February 2023 and due to
be held in California. "Sanofi is not a defendant in many of the
other cases currently set for trial," it said.
Two other trials over Zantac are set for Aug. 22 and February
2023 in Madison County, Illinois.
GSK is being named in all three trials and has served Haleon
with notice of potential claims connected to OTC Zantac.
The litigation dates back to 2019 when the U.S. Food & Drug
Administration alerted the public that some medicines--including
Zantac--included higher than the allowed levels of
N-nitrosodimethylamine, a contaminant found in drinking water,
soil, and common foods.
GSK shares have fallen 15% since Tuesday to close at 1400 pence
on Thursday; Haleon shares have fallen 13% to close at 265.8 pence
and Sanofi shares have fallen 11% to close at EUR84.75.
GSK sold the prescription version of the drug in the U.S.
beginning in 1983, then sold the over-the-counter version from 1995
to 1998. In 2000, Pfizer bought the company that owned the
over-the-counter version at the time, and marketed it until 2006.
After that, the drug wound up with the private German firm
Boehringer Ingelheim, which sold it in 2017 to Sanofi.
Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix and
Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 12, 2022 04:33 ET (08:33 GMT)
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