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A jury in Chicago on Thursday rejected an Illinois woman’s claim that the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused her colon cancer, in the first trial out of thousands of lawsuits making similar allegations. The jury in Cook County, Illinois circuit court agreed with arguments from drugmakers GSK (GSK.L), opens new tab and Boehringer Ingelheim that the plaintiff, 89-year-old Illinois resident Angela Valadez, had not proven her colon cancer was at least in part caused by her Zantac use. (Jones, 5/23)

When Philips Respironics in 2021 recalled millions of devices for treating sleep apnea, the company warned users of potential ill effects including kidney and liver damage in connection with foam used in the machines. That’s why plaintiffs' lawyer Garry Jones said he expected his client, who used the breathing device for two years before developing kidney cancer, would be entitled to a payout under a $1.1 billion multidistrict litigation settlement announced by Philips late last month. He is not. (Greene, 5/23)

Bayer AG Chief Executive Officer Bill Anderson said the wave of lawsuits over its Roundup weedkiller is an “existential” threat to the company and farmers, ratcheting up the stakes as it considers a controversial legal maneuver. “The glyphosate litigation topic is an existential topic for our company because it does threaten to remove our ability to continue to innovate for farmers and for food security,” Anderson said in a speech at the Executives’ Club of Chicago on Thursday, referring to Roundup’s key ingredient. (Chipman and Veloso, 5/23)

An early-stage clinical trial of a radiopharmaceutical drug developed by Johnson & Johnson showed some signs of efficacy in prostate cancer patients, newly released data show, but four participants in the trial died. (DeAngelis, 5/23)

Express Scripts is partnering with more independent pharmacies. Cigna Group's pharmacy benefit manager is collaborating with pharmacy network CPESN USA in a bid to improve care delivery, according to a Thursday news release. The partnership, effective immediately, is focusing first on Medicare enrollees with hypertension and diabetes, the release said. (Berryman, 5/23)

Semaglutide, the compound in the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, dramatically reduced the risk of kidney complications, heart issues and death in people with Type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease in a major clinical trial, the results of which were published on Friday. The findings could transform how doctors treat some of the sickest patients with chronic kidney disease, which affects more than one in seven adults in the United States but has no cure. (Blum, 5/24)