AstraZeneca Settles Heartburn Treatment Lawsuit For One Of Biggest Selling Drug

AstraZeneca Plc AZN has agreed to pay $425 million to settle U.S. lawsuits related to heartburn and stomach acid treatments Nexium and Prilosec.

The heartburn treatments have been under litigation, as some users said they caused kidney damage.

Several lawsuits have been filed in California against GSK Plc GSK, Sanofi SA SNY, Pfizer Inc PFE, and Boehringer Ingelheim, who all sold Zantac, another heartburn treatment, at various times.

As of August 2023, nearly 13,000 Nexium and Prilosec kidney damage lawsuits are pending in a class action MDL. 

Nexium is one of the biggest-selling drugs in the world, with annual revenues of over $5 billion.

The European pharma giant said the agreements effectively resolve the product liability claims currently pending in the Distinct Court in New Jersey and Superior Courts in Delaware and New Jersey.

AstraZeneca added that it continues to believe these claims are "without merit and admits no wrongdoing in the settlement agreement."

"These settlements avoid continued costly litigation and allow the company to move forward," it added.

A case remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, scheduled for trial on 15 April 2024.

Price Action: AZN shares are up 0.27% at $66.91 during the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.