UK pharmaceutical giant GSK says it will pay $2.2 billion (£1.68 billion) to settle thousands of cases in US courts claiming a discontinued version of its heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer.

The firm announced that it has reached a settlement with 10 law firms representing approximately 80,000 claimants. 93% of all cases result in settlement.

GSK will also pay $70 million to resolve a lab whistleblower complaint that alleged the drugmaker defrauded the U.S. government by hiding Zantac’s cancer risks.

GSK did not admit wrongdoing in any case.

The company said in a statement to investors That the settlements “remove the significant financial uncertainty, risk and distraction associated with protracted litigation.”

Zantac was first approved for sale in the US in 1983.

Within five years it became the world’s best-selling drug, with annual sales exceeding $1 billion.

In 2020, US regulators removed Zantac over fears that a key ingredient, ranitidine, could turn into a substance that can cause cancer when exposed to heat.

That move led to thousands of lawsuits against drug manufacturers.

last year, UK doctors told to stop prescribing four types of Zantac As a “precautionary measure”.

Subsequently, concerns were raised in many countries that the products may contain impurities that are linked to cancer.

As well as being sold by GSK, the drug is also marketed by other major pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Pfizer and Sanofi have agreed to settle both cases.

Boehringer Ingelheim is an exception. It has not announced any major agreements.

A drug called Zantac 360, which contains no ranidine, is still being sold.