ANTI-DEPRESSANT LAWSUIT BEGINS IN CHEYENNE
CHEYENNE -- A popular antidepressant called Paxil caused a Gillette man to kill his family and himself in 1998, attorneys representing the survivors say.The relatives filed a lawsuit against the global pharmaceutical company that makes the drug.But a lawyer for SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals -- now called GlaxoSmithKline as the result of a recent merger -- told a jury in U.S. District Court that Paxil had nothing to do with the tragedy.
SPITZER SUES DRUGMAKER Paxil subject of suit AG, in first action of its kind, accuses GlaxoSmithKline of concealing details about drug's risks.
State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a lawsuit yesterday charging one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world with hiding significant information about risks of its antidepressant medicine Paxil for use in teenagers. Last year the Food and Drug Administration warned that patients under age 18 should not take Paxil because of a possible increased risk of suicidal impulses. The warning followed a similar action in England.
Suit contends Glaxo knew Paxil can be addictive.
LOS ANGELES -- A lawsuit contends that the manufacturer of the popular anti-depressant Paxil concealed evidence that the drug can be addictive.The suit was filed Friday on behalf of 35 people from around the country who say they suffered symptoms ranging from electric-like shocks to suicidal thoughts after discontinuing use of the drug.The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status and unspecified damages,
Synthon, GSK settle lawsuit over Paxil rival.
GlaxoSmithKline settled a lawsuit against Synthon Pharmaceuticals, clearing the way for the Chapel Hill generic drug maker to immediately start selling its competitor to GSK's blockbuster antidepressant Paxil. Synthon, which plans to build a $20 million research and manufacturing campus near Mebane, plans for Pexeva to hit the market early this year, about two years before patents protecting GSK's Paxil rights begin to expire.
ANTI-DEPRESSANT PAXIL CAUSES ADDICTION WOES, LAWSUIT.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A lawsuit contends the manufacturer of the popular anti-depressant Paxil concealed evidence that the drug can be addictive. The lawsuit was filed Friday on behalf of 35 people from around the country who say they suffered symptoms ranging from electric-like shocks to suicidal thoughts after discontinuing use of the drug.The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status and unspecified damages,
Curbs on Paxil urged, child suicide risk seen.
No one younger than 18 should be prescribed the drug Paxil for depression because the adult anti-depressant may increase a child's risk of suicide, the government said Thursday.The Food and Drug Administration's recommendation came a week after Britain issued an even stronger warning against pediatric use of Paxil, sold there under the name Seroxat. Children and teen-agers already taking Paxil should not suddenly stop the pills,
Drugmaker is sued over Paxil safety.
In a novel claim testing the way the $400 billion worldwide pharmaceutical industry is regulated, the New York state attorney general sued the British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline for consumer fraud, charging the company with concealing negative information about its popular antidepressant medicine Paxil. The civil lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, contends that GlaxoSmithKline engaged in persistent fraud by failing to tell physicians that studies of Paxil showed that the...
30 Utahns join Paxil lawsuit.
Thirty Utah residents on Thursday joined the some 4,000 people nationwide who have sued the makers of Paxil, a popular anti-depressant from the British drug company GlaxoSmithKline.
According to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, the Utahns all suffered severe reactions after attempting to stop taking Paxil, which allegedly had been marketed as non-habit-forming.
"At all times relevant herein, (GlaxoSmithKline) knew that Paxil could cause severe withdrawal reactions but for years concealed, suppressed and downplayed the severity and frequency of their existence to plaintiffs, the medical community and the consuming public," the suit states. "As a result, plaintiffs were deprived of their ability to exercise their full and informed consent when deciding to take Paxil."
Had the Utahns known of the "debilitating withdrawal symptoms" -- including severe nausea, dizziness and sensory disturbances such as electronic "zaps" -- many of them would not have taken Paxil in the first place, attorney Karen Barth Menzies said.
Barth Menzies, of the Los Angeles-based law firm Baum Hedlund, is the lead attorney in the nationwide Paxil withdrawal litigation. Her firm filed the first class-action lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline in August 2001 and has since filed lawsuits in 28 states.
Thursday's lawsuit will be transferred from Utah's federal court to a special Multidistrict Litigation court based in Los Angeles.
The Utah case accuses GlaxoSmithKline of fraud and fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation and marketing, breach of express warranty, negligence, strict liability, unjust enrichment and violations of the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act.
The 30 plaintiffs are seeking monetary compensation, as well as injunctive relief that would require GlaxoSmithKline to stop their alleged false marketing of Paxil.
"They're trying to obtain relief for the suffering they've had to go through," Barth Menzies said. "There's a lot of people who've had to miss work and couldn't take care of their kids."
Some of the plaintiffs' withdrawal symptoms have been so severe they are forced to continue taking the medication, she said. In those cases, they are also seeking compensation for the cost of the medicine.
Earlier this week, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued GlaxoSmithKline for consumer fraud, contending the drug maker failed to tell physicians studies showed that Paxil was not effective in adolescent patients and may be linked to come cases of suicide.
The drug company has responded with a statement saying it "has acted responsibly in conducting clinical studies in pediatric patients and disseminating data from those studies."
