Chemically known as ranitidine hydrochloride, Zantac (ranitidine) belongs to a class of drugs called histamine H2-receptor antagonists (or H2 blockers), which decrease the amount of acid produced by the stomach.
Zantac is a very popular antacid medication that has been on the market since the early 1980s. Zantac is available over the counter (Zantac OTC) and by prescription. People commonly use Zantac for acid reflux, heartburn, and a host of other stomach, throat, and gastrointestinal issues. Others use Zantac for allergies to supplement their treatment regimen.
Zantac dosage varies between 75 and 150 mg tablets, though some patients take a once daily Zantac 300 mg dosage.
Since the 1980s, numerous studies have demonstrated a link between the NDMA in Zantac and cancer. Mounting evidence also allegedly shows that Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim, the big pharma companies that make Zantac (ranitidine hydrochloride), concealed the Zantac cancer link from millions of people who took the drug for heartburn, gastric and duodenal ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), sour stomach, Barrett’s esophagus, acid reflux, and other issues. This deception came as the companies made unprecedented profits from Zantac, the first drug to generate $1 billion in sales.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on September 13, 2019 that it is investigating Zantac cancer risks after testing of Zantac 150 tablets found the commonly-used heartburn medication contains NDMA at levels up to 3,000 times greater than the FDA’s daily intake limit. The Zantac cancer lawyers at Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman believe there is no safe level of NDMA.
Prior to the FDA market withdrawal of ranitidine, numerous manufacturers issued generic Zantac recalls on their own, including Apotex, Sandoz (Novartis), and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) after Valisure, an online pharmacy that batch tests the medications it sells, and Emery Pharma, a contract laboratory, found unacceptably high levels of NDMA in ranitidine during testing. Both filed citizen’s petitions with the FDA, urging the agency to suspend sales and issue a Zantac recall. Some versions of Zantac were also recalled in Canada and Europe.
