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Pfizer, Sanofi Find Relief As Delaware Top Court Rejects Zantac Expert Testimony

The Delaware Supreme Court has overturned a lower court’s decision that allowed expert testimony supporting plaintiffs’ claims in a high-profile case alleging that Zantac, or its generic ranitidine, can cause cancer.

The justices concluded that the trial court applied an incorrect legal standard when it ruled that the reliability of expert opinions should be determined by a jury rather than by the judge.

Initially marketed by a forerunner of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK), Zantac, once a blockbuster heartburn drug, has been sold at different times by companies, including Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi SA (NASDAQ:SNY), and several generic drugmakers.

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The case centers on nearly 75,000 plaintiffs who claim their cancer diagnoses were caused by exposure to ranitidine, the active ingredient in Zantac, which may degrade into the probable human carcinogen NDMA.

Plaintiffs submitted expert reports linking the drug to ten types of cancer, but the defendants challenged the validity of those reports, questioning the scientific methods used.

The Superior Court denied motions to exclude the expert opinions, citing Delaware’s “liberal thrust” toward admitting expert testimony. It found that any ...