A group of women in the United States are suing British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the maker of the common anti-depressant Paxil, for failing to warn patients that taking their drug while pregnant may result in birth defects.
According to Sarah Boseley, health editor of the Guardian, these women claim that GSK knew of the link between Paxil and birth trauma more than 10 years ago, a claim that GSK fervently denies.
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This is a complicated situation. Back in 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned physicians against prescribing Paxil to pregnant women (or women planning to become pregnant) unless no other treatment options were feasible. Unfortunately, the real problem with Paxil and other SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) like Prozac is that they are addictive. It can be very difficult to cease treatment in the event or hope of a pregnancy.
David Healy, a professor of psychiatry in Wales, will be testifying against GSK in court. He claims that GSK went so far as to promote Paxil specifically to women of childbearing years.
So far, GSK denies any concrete link between SSRIs and birth defects and points to other forces that may have played part in the studies such as medical negligence and genetics.
