DRUG giant GlaxoSmithKline is being sued in the US for 鈥渞epeated and persistent fraud鈥�. Last week, New York state attorney-general Eliot Spitzer filed a civil lawsuit alleging the company suppressed research findings that indicate its antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil or Seroxat) is not only ineffective in adolescents and children but also increases the risk of suicide.
The lawsuit alleges that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) knew in 1998 that paroxetine was ineffective and unsafe for under-18s but did not inform doctors and its own drug reps. Of five company trials of the drug in under-18s, only one was ever published. One study found that it was less effective than placebo.
A leaked company memo from 1998 recommended how to handle the results of two trials that were 鈥渋nsufficiently robust鈥�. The document suggested that GSK should 鈥渕anage the dissemination of these data in order to minimise any potential negative commercial impact鈥�.
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GSK denies the allegations. It says the memo does not reflect the company position, and that it has made all its paediatric studies available to drug regulators around the world.
In June last year, Britain鈥檚 Medicines and 91色情片care products Regulatory Agency banned paroxetine as a treatment for depression in under-18s, and the US Food and Drug Administration has forced GSK to strengthen warnings about the risk of suicidal thoughts when taking the drug.