Sanofi has informed the investors that it is planning to bring back Zantac with the generic pharmaceutical ingredient found in Pepcid; famotidine.
Last year, Sanofi had to recall Zantaz OTC as per the orders issued by the federal regulators. The officials stated, the heartburn drug contained ranitidine that converts it into a chemical byproduct that causes cancer.
Zantac was first introduced in the 1980s and was most widely used as a medication for the treatment of heartburn and acid reflux. It was available as generic ranitidine and widely used by Americans.
It was discovered in late 2019, that the ranitidine-based medication contained high levels of a human carcinogen, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which can get activated if the drug passes through the body or the pills are stored under certain conditions.
There are thousands of Zantac lawsuits filed by the consumers against Sanofi and other manufacturers of ranitidine-based drugs. All the defendants in the lawsuits allege that the exposure to NDMA produced by ranitidine caused them to develop breast cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer and other injuries. Sanofi responded to the issue by stating the Zantac brand is not as toxic as the chemical that might have caused the problems for the consumers and still has some reputation in the market.
The spokesperson for Sanofi announced on April 28 that the company will launch a new product named Zantac 360. The company even notified that it will use famotidine, which is the active ingredient in Pepcid instead of ranitidine to manufacture the new product.
The company will release two versions of the new Zantac drug on the U.S. market in June 2021. The products include a 10 mg famotidine “Original Strength” version, and a 20 mg “Maximum Strength” version.
All the Zantac lawsuits are consolidated before U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg for a common outcome and coordinated discovery.
