UK
drugs group Glaxosmithkline (GSK) has been sued in the US
for allegedly lying about the effectiveness and safety of
its antidepressant Paxil.
New
York state attorney general Eliot Spitzer filed the case at
the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
The lawsuit claims GSK has deliberately witheld negative information
on Paxil, which is also known as Seroxat.
Mr Spitzer also says the company misrepresented study results
to its sales force. GSK has denied the claims.
The case centres on the safety of the use of the drug for
children and adolescents.
Mr Spitzer says GSK carried out five studies into the matter,
but published only one which had mixed results.
He also alleges that the company suppressed negative results
from the other studies which did not show Paxil worked and
may have even suggested an increased risk of suicide.
Furthermore, the drugs giant engaged in "repeated and persistent
fraud by concealing and failing to disclose" the information
in medical information letters it sent out to doctors, he
said.
Profits penalty
Anti-depressants have been making the news recently, amid
claims that they increase the risk of suicide or suicidal
thoughts in their users.
During 2002, more than two million prescriptions for Paxil
were written for children and adolescents in the US.
US regulators have only approved the drug for the treatment
of adult depression, but physicians do have the ability to
prescribe it for children.
But GSK spokeswoman Mary Ann Rhyne said the allegations were
untrue.
She said that all information about the trials was disseminated
either in medical journals and public scientific meetings,
as well as to regulatory watchdogs.
Mr Spitzer's suit also argues that the company misrepresented
the results of its research to its sales representatives,
saying it had "remarkable efficacy and safety in the treatment
of adolescent depression".
He has demanded that the firm give up all of the profits it
has made through the claimed misconduct.
Paxil sales - which are already under pressure from rising
generic competition - totalled $291m in the three months to
March, with US sales amounting to $148m, Glaxo's latest company
report said.
Shares in the group fell 33p to close at 1111p on the London
Stock Exchange, while in afternoon trade in New York trade
they ended the day at $41.39, a 3% fall.
UK
drugs group Glaxosmithkline (GSK) has been sued in the US
for allegedly lying about the effectiveness and safety of
its antidepressant Paxil.
