Paxil settlements, costs total nearly $1 billion for GSK – Report

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Local Tech Wire

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Settlements and related costs for the antidepressant drug Paxil have cost drug giant (NYSE: GSK) close to $1 billion, Bloomberg news reported Monday.

The figure is based on court records and people “familiar with the cases,” Bloomberg said.

GSK would not confirm the $1 billion figure, Bloomberg reported.

Paxil, which was approved for use in 1993, has triggered numerous suits against GSK, which has its U.S. headquarters in RTP and employs some 4,000 people in the area.

According to Bloomberg, Paxil costs include:

• Some $390 million for suicides or attempted suicides linked to the drug

• Some $200 million to settle addiction and birth defect cases

• Another $400 million to settle antitrust, fraud and design cases

For the complete Bloomberg report,