GSK share price surges after $2.2bn Zantac drug settlement

GSK has settled lawsuits in the US that alleged the drugmaker’s now-discontinued heartburn drug Zantac triggered cancer

Glaxo SmithKline building
The GSK settlement was much lower than expected
(Image credit: © Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

GSK’s shares rose by as much as 6.5% on Thursday before settling back slightly lower after it agreed a $2.2 billion settlement over lawsuits in the US, which alleged the drugmaker’s now-discontinued heartburn drug Zantac triggered cancer.

The agreement was much lower than many analysts and investors had expected, including a projection from JP Morgan of $3.5 billion. 

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Chris Newlands

Chris is a freelance journalist, and was previously an editor and correspondent at the Financial Times as well as the business and money editor at The i Newspaper. He is also the author of the Virgin Money Maker, the personal finance guide published by Virgin Books, and has written for the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, South China Morning Post, TimeOut, Barron's and The Guardian. He is a graduate in Economics.