GlaxoSmithKline Says Settles Certain Paxil Drug Lawsuits

20th Jul 2010 16:22

By Sten Stovall Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK, GSK.LN) Tuesday said it has settled certain lawsuits alleging its Paxil antidepressant caused birth defects in some users but didn't give financial details. The U.K.'s biggest drug company said in an email it "has reached agreement to settle certain cases involving the use of Paxil during pregnancy. The details of those settlements are confidential. Other cases remain pending." It declined to comment on a Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the settlements, that GlaxoSmithKline agreed to pay more than $1 billion to resolve more than 800 cases alleging Paxil caused birth defects. Glaxo in its email said it "considers options for every case, including settlement when it makes sense. The company has agreed to these settlements, despite its litigation defenses, in order to avoid the costs, burdens and uncertainties of ongoing litigation." It added that a number of Paxil cases had been voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiffs. GlaxoSmithKline last week said it would take a charge of GBP1.57 billion in the second quarter to cover the cost of settling lawsuits involving Paxil, as well as its diabetes drug Avandia and a U.S. government investigation of a Glaxo factory in Puerto Rico. Glaxo at the time said the charge would include money to "fully" resolve anti-trust litigation involving Paxil, and to settle the "vast majority" of consumer lawsuits involving the drug. Consumers who took Paxil claimed they had been harmed by side effects, including suicidal thoughts. -By Sten Stovall, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9292; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 20, 2010 11:22 ET (15:22 GMT)