HUGE! Delaware Judge Lets More Than 70,000 Zantac Lawsuits Go Forward + More

READ HERE: A Delaware judge has allowed more than 70,000 lawsuits over discontinued heartburn drug Zantac to go forward, ruling that expert witnesses can testify in court that the drug may cause cancer.

The ruling on Friday by Judge Vivian Medinilla of the Delaware Superior Court in Wilmington is a setback for former Zantac makers GSK (GSK.L), Pfizer (PFE.N), Sanofi (SASY.PA) and Boehringer Ingelheim, which had argued that the expert witnesses’ opinions lacked scientific support.

“This moves us one step closer to justice for our clients,” Brent Wisner, one of the plaintiffs’ lead lawyers, said in a statement on Saturday.

Lawsuits began piling up from people who said they developed cancer after taking Zantac. Plaintiffs said the companies knew, or should have known, that ranitidine posed a cancer risk and that they failed to warn consumers. In addition to the cases in Delaware, the drugmakers are facing about 4,000 claims in California state court and about 2,000 in various other state courts around the country.