Sanofi's Email Deletion May Be Illegal And Could Delay Zantac Cancer Trials

Sanofi is accused of deleting key emails that would shed light on what the company knew and when they knew it about the carcinogen NDMA

Tuesday, December 14, 2021 - If Sanofi and GSK are found to have covered up their knowledge of carcinogenic NDMA levels, it could force the companies to settle hundreds of thousands of Zantac cancer lawsuits on terms unfavorable to them. Sanofi acted guilty of knowing about the carcinogenic nature of ranitidine when they were caught deleting emails sent to and from a top scientist at the heart of the companies consumer health care division. According to Bloomberg, "French drugmaker Sanofi destroyed internal emails tied to a 2019 recall of the heartburn medication suspected carcinogen to taint Zantac." The US Department of Justice (DOJ) suspects Sanofi and Galaxy Smith Kline knew they had an NDMA problem decades ago and lied to government regulators. The companies are under criminal investigation by the country's top law enforcement agency. Without the emails, it is much harder for the DOJ to prove their case. Deleting the emails could also delay the start of the bellwether trials slated for 2023 at the earliest. "The mishandling of emails has "resulted in the delay and/or postponement of many key Sanofi depositions," lawyers for former patients said," according to Bloomberg. Bellwether trials will not begin before 2023 at the earliest, and the results of the DOJ investigation should be revealed by then.

Individuals with cancer of the stomach, bladder, esophagus, colon, prostate, and bladder that have taken Zantac heartburn and acid reflux medicine regularly for more than one year may qualify to join others suing Sanofi, the maker of the drug Zantac cancer lawsuits are grouped into Multidistrict litigation (MDL) in Florida. Judge Robin Rosenberg is presiding and currently working on the complex scientific evidence that juries will be allowed to see and hear. More than 150,000 people with a confirmed cancer diagnosis think that using Zantac regularly is the cause of their stomach, bladder, esophagus, and other types of cancer. If the heartburn medicine cancer cases ever make their way to trial, they will probably be grouped into lots of 1000 or more plaintiffs at a time with similar injuries. There is no way the court system could handle that volume of lawsuits one by one. That number of lawsuits against Sanofi could increase exponentially if bellwether lawsuits find Sanofi, the maker of Zantac, knew about the cancer risks of taking their medicine and failed to warn consumers. Experts think that the Zantac cancer litigation could be the largest mass tort lawsuit in American history, surpassing tobacco and asbestos. More than 15 million Americans were taking Zantac on April 1, 2020, for heartburn and acid reflux relief when the FDA recalled all forms of ranitidine. Sanofi has replaced Zantac 150 ranitidine with Zantac 360 famotidine, a stronger and longer-lasting heartburn medicine. The FDA recalled the product because there was no way to control the temperatures during transportation or storage of the product. Heating ranitidine and other molecules to high temperatures increase NDMA, a deadly carcinogen, above the 96 nanograms per tablet threshold that the FDA established. FDA tests for NDMA in ranitidine confirmed the presence but detected NDMA levels that were only slightly higher than 96 nanograms.

More Recent Heartburn MedicineLawsuit News:

• Zantac Cancer Trials Are In Discovery To Begin In October 2022 | 7/19/2022
• Zantac Cancer Lawsuits Could Hinge On The Validity of Ranitidine Testing Methods | 7/11/2022
• Zantac Cancer Bellwether Trials In California Could Set The Stage For A Global Settlement Offer | 7/5/2022
• The FDA Recommended Protein Pump Inhibitor Drugs Like Prilosec And Nexium That May Damage Health More Than Zantac | 6/23/2022
• Truck Drivers, Firefighters, and Police Officers May Have Taken More Zantac Than People In Other Occupations | 6/20/2022

Lawyers for Zantac Heartburn Medicine Lawsuits

OnderLaw, LLC is a St. Louis personal injury law firm handling serious injury and death claims across the country. Its mission is the pursuit of justice, no matter how complex the case or strenuous the effort. The Onder Law Firm has represented clients throughout the United States in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation such as Pradaxa, Lexapro and Yasmin/Yaz, where the firm's attorneys held significant leadership roles in the litigation, as well as Actos, DePuy, Risperdal and others. The Onder Law Firm has won more than $300 million in four talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits in St. Louis. Law firms throughout the nation often seek its experience and expertise on complex litigation.