[Marxism] Glaxo Faces Criminal Action in Britain Over Suicide Pills...

["David Quarter" <davidquarter@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

To:                     drugawareness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
From:                   atracyphd2@xxxxxxx


Four days ago I sent you the news that the NY Attorney General had filed a
suit against GlaxoSmithKline over Paxil and in that message I made the following
statement: "United Kingdom has been considering criminal charges against this
company for almost a year for this same exact reason. With this action by the
state of New York will we see them now act on that as well?"

And today we have that answer in VERY bold headlines stating it the way it
is: "Glaxo may face prosecution over antidepressant" or "Glaxo faces criminal
action in Britain over â??suicideâ?? pills" - exactly what I have said for 15
years, although "murder/suicide pills" may have been a better fit.

Paxil was the worst of the SSRIs until Celexa hit the market - as if you can
pick one out as one's worst poison?  They all work the same way and they all
produce the same results - some may take a day or two longer is all. But I
predict that Effexor will be the next to bite the dust because it is such a 
nasty
drug. When they marketed it as "Prozac with a kick" they were not kidding!

Anyway I don't think anyone would want to be in the shoes of Glaxo
spokeswoman Mary Ann Rhyne right now.  The end of May Italian police announced 
they want
4000 doctors and 273 Glaxo employees put on trial. Then the NY Attorney
General last week, Canada issued their strong warning against this group of 
drugs a
day or two later, and now Britian plans to file criminal charges. Talk about
a public relations nightmare! They are being hit from the four corners of the
earth!

Considering how many lives I have seen lost to this drug, or lives destroyed
as a result, or people addicted to it in terrible withdrawal, I have no
compassion for Glaxo. The old saying, "You reap what you sow" certainly applys 
in
this case.


Ann Blake Tracy, Ph.D.
Executive Director, International Coalition For Drug Awareness
Author: Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare
& audio tape on safe withdrawal: "Help! I Can't Get
Off My Antidepressant!"

Order Number: 800-280-0730
Website: www.drugawareness.org


http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8209-1135320,00.html

June 06, 2004

Glaxo faces criminal action in Britain over â??suicideâ?? pills

Paul Durman and Dominic Rushe

GLAXO SMITH KLINE is facing a potential criminal prosecution for allegedly
failing to inform British health regulators about the suicide risks associated
with Seroxat, its blockbuster anti-depressant. Officials at the Medicines and
Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) launched an investigation into
Glaxo because of concerns that Britainâ??s biggest pharmaceutical group had
withheld important data from clinical trials.

This showed that Seroxat could cause an increased risk of suicide and â??
self-harmâ?? if prescribed to depressed teenagers.

The MHRA and the Committee on Safety of Medicines only received full details
of the trials in May last year. Within two weeks, the MHRA announced a ban on
giving Seroxat to children under 18 â?? the first regulator in the world to take
such a step. Shortly afterwards, the US Food and Drug Administration issued
similar, though less categorical, advice to doctors.

The MHRA investigation is expected to report its findings shortly. This
weekend the MHRA said it â??treats very seriously any failure to comply with 
the law.
Last year, the MHRA announced that it would investigate Glaxo to make sure
the company had complied with its legal obligations under UK and European 
law.â??

Drug companies are obliged to report new evidence that changes the balance of
risks and benefits of using their products.

Depending on its findings, the MHRA could choose to prosecute either Glaxo as
a company or go after named individuals. If found guilty, the penalties could
include fines or imprisonment.

The MHRA action comes when Glaxo is still reeling from allegations last week
that it had â??engaged in repeated and persistent fraud by misrepresenting,
concealing and otherwise failing to discloseâ?? important information about the
safety and efficacy of Seroxat, which is known as Paxil in America. The company
must defend itself against a lawsuit from Eliot Spitzer, the New York
attorney-general who first came to prominence after taking on the abuses of 
Wall Street
banks during the technology boom.

Jean-Pierre Garnier, Glaxoâ??s chief executive, insisted the firm had provided
regulators with all trial data. â??We are a high-integrity company,â?? he said. 
â??
We know what the rules are and we follow them. We have a policy of publishing
our negative data to the authorities.â??

The British case rests on some of the same evidence as that of the New York
lawsuit.

Garnier said it could be dangerous to change medical advice based on a single
clinical study. â??Sometimes you have to wait for all studies to come in before
you have some sort of conclusion.â??


 http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&;
storyID=524209&section=finance

Glaxo may face prosecution over antidepressant

Sun 6 June, 2004 12:49

LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline may face prosecution for allegedly not
informing health authorities about suicide risks associated with its
antidepressant Seroxat, The Sunday Times has reported.

Europe's largest drugmaker is already facing charges by New York Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer over the use of the drug, sold in the United States as
Paxil, on children.

The Sunday Times said the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
(MHRA) had begun an investigation because of fears that Glaxo held back
important information from clinical trials.

The information indicated that Seroxat may cause a greater risk of suicide
and "self-harm" if given to depressed teenagers, the paper said.

A spokeswoman for MHRA -- the government's watchdog on drug safety --
confirmed it was investigating Glaxo on the Seroxat issue.

"The MHRA treats very seriously any failure to comply with the law. Last
year, MHRA announced that they would investigate (Glaxo) to establish whether 
they
had complied with their legal obligations under UK and European law," she
said.

"The investigation is ongoing and will report shortly," she added. She did
not elaborate.

A Glaxo spokesman declined to comment.

The use of Seroxat and other similar drugs to treat children is under medical
scrutiny because of worries about higher suicide risks, leading U.S. and
British regulators to issue warnings against using it for patients under the age
of 18.

Spitzer filed a lawsuit against Glaxo on Wednesday over charges that it
fraudulently concealed studies showing that the antidepressant may not work when
used to treat children and could lead to suicidal behaviour.

"The company suppressed the negative results of the other studies, which
failed to demonstrate that Paxil is effective and which suggested a possible
increase risk of suicidal thinking and acts," Spitzer said. This amounted to
"repeated and persistent fraud," he said.

Glaxo spokeswoman Mary Ann Rhyne said on Wednesday that the company
disseminated information about all its trials either in medical journals or at 
public
scientific meetings as well as to regulatory agencies.

The Sunday Times said the MHRA may choose to prosecute Glaxo or go after
specific individuals at the company.





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