GSK is Finally Being Held Responsible for Birth Defects Caused by Paxil
As recently reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has known and suppressed studies and adverse event reports showing a direct correlation between Paxil use in pregnancy women and cardiovascular birth defects:
Glaxo Executive’s Memo Suggested Burying Drug Studies (Update4)Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- An executive of GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the world’s second-biggest drugmaker, talked about burying negative studies linking its antidepressant drug Paxil to birth defects, according to a company memo introduced at a trial.
“If neg, results can bury,” Glaxo executive Bonnie Rossello wrote in a 1997 memo on what the company would do if forced to conduct animal studies on the drug. The memo was read during opening statements in the trial of a lawsuit brought by the family of a child born with heart defects.
The Philadelphia trial is the first of more than 600 cases alleging that London-based Glaxo knew Paxil caused birth defects and hid those risks to pump up profits. The drug, approved for U.S. use in 1992, generated about $942 million in sales last year, 2.1 percent of Glaxo’s total revenue.
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