The actions of GSK, Sanofi Y Haleon They fell sharply on Thursday morning, after dipping earlier in the week as concern grew over litigation in the United States over a heartburn drug that was withdrawn from the market in 2020 for containing a probable carcinogen.
GSK shares tumbled 13.8% from their closing price on Friday, those of Sanofi 18.8% in the period and those of Haleon 15.9 percent.
After alerting the public to the presence of a probable carcinogen in the heartburn drug zantac in 2019, the following year the US health regulator asked manufacturers of all versions of the treatment to withdraw their products from the market.
More than 2,000 cases related to the drug have already been filed in the United States, according to analysts at Credit Suisse, with the first trial starting later this month.
“Investor feedback has been absolutely consistent that the share’s decline is related to concerns about the size of a potential deal between the players,” said Emily Field, an analyst at Barclays.
Haleon – GSK’s recently spun off consumer health unit – had lost $5 billion in market value so far this week as of Thursday. Stocks recouped some of those losses after a spokesman told Reuters the company was not primarily responsible for any of the claims.
“We have never marketed Zantac in any form in the United States as Haleon or as GSK consumer healthcare.”
Zantac has been sold by various companies since 1995 and that “may make third parties liable prior to any Haleon exposure,” the spokesman added.
The drug was marketed by GSK between 1995 and 1998, by Pfizer between 2000 and 2006, by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) between 2006 and 2017, and by Sanofi between 2017 and 2019, Redburn analysts wrote in a note.
GSK, J&J, Pfizer and Sanofi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
