A joint plan to narrow more than 130,000 potential personal injury claimants accusing alleged links between the heartburn drug Zantac and various cancers has been presented by the parties of the Zantac MDL.
Florida-based U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg is overseeing the Zantac MDLs and informed that he will have a conference with attorneys for the consumers and various drugmakers to look into the "gray" areas of the MDL.
Earlier, Judge Rosenberg trimmed major claims against generic-drug makers and retailers, but still, pharmaceutical brands were left out facing accusations of false advertising, failure to warn and other claims associated with the alleged discovery of the cancer-causing chemical nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, in the medication. The companies included including Sanofi, Pfizer Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline LLC.
The parties involved in the bellwether pool of the MDL have agreed to limit the plaintiffs residing in Florida itself. As per the stated agreement, 75% of the Florida plaintiffs will be bound to MDL court's orders and certify that they will file their complaints within the MDL. The first trial is slated for July 17, 2023, whereas November 15 is the deadline for getting the plaintiffs registered to the agreement.
The plan even outlines the limit of duration which plaintiffs need to abide by to provide discovery, including signed medical authorizations and a list of certain medical providers, with stipulations for curing deficiencies. These cases would be resolved by the court.
