GSK knew about Zantac cancer risk, attorneys tell jury in first trial

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U.S. attorneys for a woman who claims her colon cancer was caused by the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac on Thursday told a jury in Chicago that pharmaceutical companies GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim knew the product could cause cancer if it was not handled properly but failed to warn the public. Mikal Watts, who is representing 89-year-old Angela Valadez, said the companies knew that Zantac’s active ingredient, ranitidine, would turn into a cancer-causing substance called NDMA as it aged or was exposed to extreme temperatures, but did not ensure it was properly handled by transporters, distributors and stores.