Paxil Birth Defect Litigation and Glaxo
The antidepressant Paxil was introduced in 1992 by GlaxoSmithKline. Over the past 18 years, the drugmaker has paid out nearly $1 billion to resolve lawsuits and $4 million of that amount involves claims that Paxil caused birth defects, the Health Sentinel reports.
And it is likely that number will climb as hundreds of Paxil birth defect cases ready for trial.
In October 2009, a Philadelphia jury concluded that Glaxo negligently failed to warn a pregnant woman’s doctor about Paxil’s birth defect risks and concluded that Paxil caused her newborn’s heart defects.
After the jury awarded the family $2.5 million, jurors indicated that they had taken particular note of the fact that Glaxo never studied the safety of their own drug, even though animal testing in 1980 raised the possibility.
When Paxil was originally introduced to the market, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration gave the antidepressant a category B rating for pregnant women – meaning that animal testing failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus.
In 1995, after an FDA toxicologist raised a concern about Paxil, it was changed to a category C drug. It wasn’t until 2005 that the FDA reclassified Paxil as a Category D drug meaning that studies in pregnant women demonstrated a fetal risk.
There are currently about 600 Paxil birth defect lawsuits nationwide pending against Paxil.
Paxil has been linked to persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborns, a rare, life-threatening condition that affects the baby’s heart and lungs.The antidepressant belongs to a group of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Although the entire class of drugs has come under fire for undisclosed side effects, Paxil is believed to be the most harmful of the SSRIs.
If you or a loved one has experienced a Paxil birth defect, contact the attorneys of Carey & Danis. We can help. Carey & Danis is a national law firm that represents individuals injured by America’s largest corporations.
