Britain’s AstraZeneca has agreed to pay $425 million to settle about 11,000 lawsuits in the United States that claimed its heartburn drugs Nexium and Prilosec caused chronic kidney disease. AstraZeneca did not admit wrongdoing under the settlement, part of broader litigation against makers of a class of heartburn drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). “Today’s settlements are a significant victory for the thousands of patients who suffered kidney injuries as a result of using” the drugs, the plaintiffs’ attorney Chris Seeger said in a statement. A single lawsuit is still scheduled to go to trial in April in Louisiana, according...
