Estée Lauder, Reckitt, Taro Pharma fall amid cancer risk in acne treatments

Shares of Estée Lauder (NYSE:EL) Reckitt Benckiser (OTCPK:RBGPF) and Taro Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:TARO) came under pressure Wednesday after an independent U.S. laboratory said it found high levels of cancer-causing chemical benzene in some of the companies' acne treatments.

The New Haven, Connecticut-based lab Valisure, whose investigations into cancer risks related to heartburn drug Zantac promoted the U.S. FDA to pull the drug from the market in 2020, also filed a petition with the regulator calling for a similar action on the affected acne treatments.

According to Valisure, Taro (TARO) Proactiv, Estee Lauder's (EL) Clinique, Reckitt's (OTCPK:RBGLY) Cleansil and Target's (TGT) Up & Up had elevated levels of the carcinogen benzene, a natural component of gasoline that can cause leukemia in high amounts.

Reckitt (OTC:RBGPY) fell ~3% in London trading, while Estee Lauder (EL) and Taro (TARO) lost ~2% in the pre-market.

Taro (TARO), Target (TGT), Estee Lauder (EL), and Reckitt (OTCPK:RBGLY) didn't immediately respond to requests for comments. Sun Pharmaceuticals, which has agreed to take TARO private in a $43 per share deal, didn't immediately respond to Seeking Alpha email request for comment.