Efforts to secure damages awards from the makers of the Zantac heartburn drug over the allegation that it contains carcinogens hit a roadblock earlier this month after a federal appeals court dismissed a proposed class action.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 7 affirmed a federal district court’s dismissal of the lawsuit advanced by the Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 630 in West Palm Beach. The lawsuit was a consolidated third-party payer class complaint (CTPPCC) filed in the wake of reports that Zantac’s active ingredient, ranitidine, may produce a human carcinogen.
Although the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit found that the union had standing on some of its claims, it dismissed the potential class action based on the characterization of the legal complaint as a “shotgun pleading,” meaning that the arguments lack adequate clarity to give defendants a clear notice of the claims against them.
“Plumbers was put on notice, before it filed its initial brief, that a failure to challenge the district court’s shotgun pleading ruling could be problematic,” the court said in its opinion. “By not contesting that ruling, Plumbers has given us no choice but to affirm the dismissal of the CTPPCC.”
The plaintiffs divided defendants into two groups: those who manufactured the brand-name drug and those who manufactured the generic version with the same active ingredient. The claims consisted of a complex mix, including breach of warranties, fraud, negligent misrepresentation and omission, and violations of state consumer protection laws.
Zantac manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) told the Florida Record that the company would defend itself against all claims that the use of the drug raises cancer risks.
“After more than three years of extensive study, the scientific consensus is that there is no consistent or reliable evidence that Zantac (ranitidine) increases the risk for any type of cancer,” a GSK spokesperson said in an email.
The company emphasized that reviews of the discontinued drug have been conducted by the Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency and GSK.
“These investigations independently concluded that there is no evidence of a causal association between ranitidine and the development of cancer in patients,” the spokesperson said.