Shareholders Accuse GSK of Concealing Knowledge of Zantac Cancer Link

PHILADELPHIA — A group of shareholders has filed a putative class action against GSK PLC in the wake of its $2.2 billion settlement of 80,000 Zantac (ranitidine) lawsuits, accusing the drug maker of hiding an internal report suggesting that the popular heartburn drug contained N-nitrosodimethylamine (NMDA), a cancer-causing compound.

According to the Feb. 4 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a GlaxoSmithKline scientist found in 1982 that under World Health Organization testing conditions, ranitidine interacted with nitrites, a common chemical found in many foods, to create 232,000 nanograms of NDMA.

The Food …