EDWARDSVILLE — Parents are suing GlaxoSmithKline, alleging its anti-depressant drug Paxil caused serious congenital birth defects.
TK, a minor, by Julie Koch, his mother and next friend, SE, a minor, by Jamie Eakins and her mother and next friends, and others filed a complaint Aug. 10 in the Madison County Circuit Court against GlaxoSmithKline LLC, formerly known as SmithKline Beecham and doing business as GlaxoSmithKline, alleging negligence.
According to the suit, the plaintiffs are parents of children born between 2005 and 2009 whose mothers were prescribed paroxetine, sold under the name Paxil, for the treatment of depression during their pregnancies. They allege that the paroxetine "was defective and unreasonably dangerous" and caused their children to be born with "serious congenital defects" including a hole in the heart, spina bifida, cleft lip and palate, an atrial septal defect, a defected aortic valve and other birth defects.
The plaintiffs also allege that GlaxoSmithKline's clinical trials of Paxil conducted from 1985 to 2003, which took place in Illinois, failed to track the outcomes of pregnant women and to examine the data on the safety of Paxil to an unborn baby. They claim GlaxoSmithKline also failed to warn patients of possible birth defects for pregnant woman taking Paxil despite their knowledge that the drug caused congenital defects in babies through animal studies.
The plaintiffs seek monetary and all other proper relief. They are represented by Kenneth Brennan, Tor Hoerman and Steven Davis of TorHoerman Law LLC in Edwardsville.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 20-L-001129