GSK and Sanofi shares jump with investor fears soothed by Zantac ruling
Shares in GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Sanofi jumped today, after thousands of claims apart of the Zantac lawsuit were dismissed.
Investors’ fears were soothed yesterday when US district judge Robin Rosenberg rejected 50,000 claims in federal court for not being based on sound science.
GSK’s shares jumped around eight per cent to 1,498.00p per share in London, while Sanofi’s stock price jumped by 5.5 per cent to 90.06 cents apiece in Paris.
The ruling acts as a “nice early Christmas present for the defendants. Was this all just a storm in a tea-cup after all?,” Bernstein analysts wrote in a note.
The British pharmaceutical giant, along with Sanofi and Pfizer still face a string of lawsuits elsewhere.
Investor uncertainty surrounding the litigation had wiped almost $40bn (£32.8m) off the market value of GSK, Sanofi, Pfizer and Haleon over roughly a week in August.
Haleon, which had recently split from GSK, was thrown into the crossfire by association, but has maintained distance from the litigation throughout the saga.
Heartburn drug Zantac was recalled in 2019, following claims by the US Food and Drug Administration that it produces unacceptable levels of cancer-causing chemicals when exposed to heat.
It means that, so far, GSK and Sanofi have avoided what could have potentially been tens of billions worth of damage liabilities, according to analysts.