AstraZeneca to pay $425M to end US lawsuits over heartburn drugs

(Reuters) — Britain’s AstraZeneca said it will pay $425 million to settle lawsuits in the United States that claimed its heartburn drugs Nexium and Prilosec caused chronic kidney disease.

AstraZeneca did not disclose specific terms of the agreement. It said in a statement Tuesday that it continues to believe the claims are without merit and it admitted no wrongdoing.

It is the second British drugmaker to reach a settlement in the United States for its heartburn drug after GSK in June agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging its discontinued treatment Zantac caused cancer.

AstraZeneca said the agreements effectively resolve all pending claims against it for failing to warn patients about the risk of contracting chronic kidney disease and related issues, bar one in Louisiana, where a trial is scheduled in April.

The plaintiffs’ counsel Seeger Weiss LLP and Douglas & London P.C. said the settlement will resolve litigation against AstraZeneca for about 11,000 claims.