Virginia woman sues Zantac makers claiming medication caused her cancer
She is suing for damages including lost income, medical expenses, ‘mental anguish,’ and ‘loss of enjoyment of life’
The makers of Zantac are being sued by a woman who says the heartburn medication caused her to have esophageal cancer.
Deborah Haskins, from Ridgeway, Va., filed a lawsuit on Jan. 3 against several pharmaceutical companies including French drugmaker Sanofi, according to the complaint, which was first reported by DailyMail.com.
Last September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it had found N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA and the generic name ranitidine, in Zantac. The agency said at the time that the chemical was “classified as a probable human carcinogen.”
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Sanofi, which sold Zantac, voluntarily recalled the medication just a month later.
In her lawsuit, Haskins alleges that Sanofi and other drugmakers that sold the heartburn medication knew, or should have known, that Zantac produces high quantities of NDMA in the human body, according to the complaint.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNY | SANOFI | 49.51 | -0.63 | -1.26% |
Haskins, who reportedly started taking 1 Zantac 75 tablet every day in 2005, is suing the companies for damages including lost income, medical expenses, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life, according to the lawsuit.
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Her complaint is among many in the United States that say Zantac caused cancers including stomach cancer, liver cancer and kidney cancer, DailyMail.com reported.
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Last month, the FDA announced that other heartburn and blood pressure medications were recalled over potential cancer risks.
The FDA has been investigating NDMA since 2018.
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This report contains material from previous FOX Business stories.