In the wake of last week’s Supreme Court decision that protected the rights of patients to sue drug makers for liability in state courts, two lawsuits are receiving particular attention. Bloomberg News reports that Pfizer and a GlaxoSmithKline PLC unit are being blamed for not warning that their antidepressants—Zoloft and Paxil—might provoke suicidal ideation and suicide in adults.
The two justices ordered the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia—which previously rejected the suits—to reconsider following the recent Supreme Court decision allowing such suits to be tried in state courts. The suits were filed by the family of a woman who committed suicide after taking Glaxo’s Paxil and a man who committed suicide after taking Pfizer’s Zoloft, said Bloomberg; both suits are among hundreds filed against drug makers. The justices also asked for reconsideration of a prior rejection of a false advertising suit involving AstraZeneca PLC’s Nexium anti-ulcer drug.
In 2005, for the first time, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) required antidepressant package warnings aimed at doctors and patients regarding suicide risks in children; in 2007, the warning was broadened to include people ages 18 to 24, said Bloomberg. In 2006, the FDA proposed expanding the labels of all antidepressants to include a warning of suicidal thoughts in patients ranging from 18-24 years of age and a suggestion that patients of all ages be carefully monitored, particularly when starting antidepressant treatment. In 2006, Glaxo and the FDA cautioned Paxil may raise the risk of suicidal behavior in young adults too, and changed the drug’s label to reflect that risk.
The FDA has urged the makers of Zoloft and other SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) antidepressants to add a warning about suicidal behavior and has said that patients using Zoloft and other antidepressants should be watched closely for suicidal tendencies. The expanded warnings on antidepressant labels advise health-care providers to “carefully monitor patients receiving antidepressants for possible worsening of depression or suicidality, especially at the beginning of therapy or when the dose either decreases or increases.”
Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for those aged 18 to 65 and the third leading cause for those aged 15 to 24 in the United States. Add to those figures the complexity of medications. In recent years, disturbing reports have suggested that side effects of some popular drugs—Chantix, Accutane, Singulair, Zoloft, and Paxil—include suicidal thoughts and behavior.
Reports have been filed with drug makers and the FDA on at least six drugs or drug classes that may be linked to suicide or suicidal ideation and the FDA released notices last year about several such medications including Singulair; epilepsy drugs including carbamazepine, gabapentin, felbamate, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, pregabalin, and valproate; and the smoking-cessation drug Chantix. Reports have been filed on SSRI antidepressants including Paxil and Prozac, the influenza drug Tamiflu, and the acne medicine Accutane. “The brain is a complex organ, and most of the drugs are complex as well,’’ said Dr. Thomas Laughren, head of the division of psychiatric products at the FDA, in a report last year. “It’s not unreasonable to think that a drug that gets into the brain may have effects other than you hope they would.’’
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March 13th, 2009 at 6:40 am
I hope these drug companies get put in the ground! They dont care about what there product does to people, they just want to make money. Too bad now there going to lose it all in lawsuits!!!!
March 18th, 2009 at 3:30 am
You hope they are put in the ground? Do you have any idea what-so-ever that these medications save thousands of lives every year. Suicides went up every year for every age group until prozac was invented and have since went down dramatically every year. Every time a new antidepressent is introduced there is an even bigger drop in suicide rates. What medications are you on Sean? No medication is side-effect free. Do you understand how bad Healthcare would become if Pharmaceutical companies went out of business. I am sorry Sean but you are a fool and stop believing they hype
April 20th, 2009 at 5:39 am
C you sure must be on a lot of those drugs from these money grabbers. Sean was hurt by these drugs and you think he will take more??? You must be insane. You have no idea support form people helps far more then any of those pills. Suicide is now the FOURTH leading cause of death for people under 65 and even higher for the young ones. I dare say the suicide rate has risen as a result of these drugs not lower them as you claim. Sean and I were fools to believe the hype of big pharma. It would have been nice if we were warned. Are you and the medical community trying to kill us with your kindness? I understand how bad healthcare has become less when people like you respond with “all drugs have side effects” then stop denying it and warn us of those side effects rather then blame us for trusting a pill to make our lives better. Try some compassion next time instead of a happy pill that makes events like Columbine happen!
April 27th, 2009 at 4:46 am
C, what these drug companies are putting in the ground CAUSES disease. Haven’t you read about all the environmental issues from these drug companies? We don’t need new drugs, they need them to make $$$. If half of the time and money spent to make “medicine” went to find the causes of disease they would have cured cancer. Instead our plant is being polluted with chemicals made by man and given in small doses to our food chain so we all have to take them whether we “need” them or not. Sean is right except it will be the lawyers getting rich along with the health professionals. It is unrelenting people who push drugs on others that cause suicide. Those like you who can do nothing but cut others down for having different opinions. Do you have any children who lived?
October 14th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
My daughter at age 13 started taking these drugs after a school bullying event and she started cutting herself up. She went from cheerleading to goth. They increased her dose and added another drug. She cut deeper, started to hallucinate and attempted suicide twice. I took her off all the meds and she came back to us. She still needs some healing but is so much better. She will not be a statistic anywhere because she didnt die. So many parents do not question Drs. on the meds. Our experience was horrifying and I am still cleaning up the mess.