Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has taken steps to assume a prominent position in a securities class-action lawsuit involving GSK, previously known as GlaxoSmithKline. The lawsuit alleges that the pharmaceutical company concealed the cancer risks associated with its drug Zantac, leading to substantial financial losses for investors.
On Monday, Yost filed a motion on behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) to be appointed as co-lead plaintiff, alongside the Indiana Public Retirement System (INPRS) in the case revolving around Zantac, a medication used for treating heartburn and acid reflux, with OPERS reporting losses totaling $14.6 million.
Yost stated, “The company knew about its product’s link to cancer but kept it a secret for decades. The reckless cover-up had tragic health consequences for patients and caused serious financial harm for investors.”
The lawsuit, submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, seeks damages for investors' financial losses attributed to the alleged misconduct by GSK. Three company executives, including CEO Emma Walmsley, are named as defendants.
The plaintiffs argue that GSK, based in London, England, misled investors concerning the safety of Zantac, which was introduced to the U.S. in 1983. The drug, once the best-selling in the world, was pulled from the market in 2020. Internal studies from 1982, allegedly concealed by the company, indicated that Zantac could degrade into high levels of NDMA, a compound linked to cancer. A 2019 discovery by an independent laboratory alerted the Food and Drug Administration and the public, leading to numerous lawsuits from affected patients.
The lawsuit claims that GSK minimized the connection between Zantac and cancer related lawsuits. Initially, GSK refrained from estimating the liability but later acknowledged a potential liability of up to $10 billion. Reports of the liability caused a $2.3 billion drop in shareholder value.
In 2023, reports surfaced that GSK had known of the cancer risks for years and deliberately suppressed the study results. Subsequently, in October 2024, GSK agreed to a settlement of up to $2.2 billion with 80,000 plaintiffs, resolving the majority of Zantac-related liability cases.