OPERS May Become Lead Co-Plaintiff in Lawsuit Over Drug Company’s Alleged Cover-up of Cancer Risks

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is seeking a lead role in a securities class-action lawsuit accusing the pharmaceutical company GSK, formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline, of concealing the cancer risks of its once-bestselling drug, Zantac, allegedly fueling billions in losses for investors.
 
Yost on filed a motion to have the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System appointed as co-lead plaintiff alongside the Indiana Public Retirement System in the case, which centers on Zantac, a drug used to treat heartburn and acid reflux. OPERS’ losses total $14.6 million.
 
“The company knew about its product’s link to cancer but kept it a secret for decades,” Yost alleges. “The reckless cover-up had tragic health consequences for patients and caused serious financial harm for investors.”
 
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, seeks damages for investors’ financial losses caused by GSK’s wrongdoing. Three company executives, including CEO Emma Walmsley, are also named as defendants.
 
The filing alleges that GSK, headquartered in London, England, misled investors about the safety of Zantac, which was introduced to the United States in 1983. The drug was prescribed more than 15 million times annually, making it, at one point, the bestselling drug in the world. Zantac was removed from the market in 2020.
 
For decades, GSK and its predecessor company allegedly concealed an internal study from 1982 showing that Zantac can break down into high levels of a cancer-causing compound called NDMA. In 2019, an independent laboratory revealed the danger to the Food and Drug Administration and the public, prompting tens of thousands of cancer-stricken patients to sue the company.  
 
In response to the flood of legal action, the company repeatedly downplayed Zantac’s link to cancer, the lawsuit says.
 
After initially declining to estimate GSK’s level of liability related to the drug, executives admitted that the company could be on the hook for up to $10 billion. News of the company’s liability erased $2.3 billion in shareholder value, the lawsuit says.
 
A 2023 news report exposed that GSK had allegedly known of the cancer risks for decades and intentionally withheld the findings of the internal study. In October 2024, GSK agreed to pay up to $2.2 billion to 80,000 plaintiffs, resolving 93% of its remaining Zantac liability cases.