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Editor: Robert Binstock
Profession: Paxil Side Effect Attorney

Category: Paxil Suicide

Senator Charles Grassley as part of an ongoing investigation of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and their questionable business practices has launched a probe on allegations that the company knew about suicide risks associated with Paxil some 15 years before a warning was added to the label. The pharmaceutical giant officially added warnings for increased suicidal behavior in young adults in 2006 but may have known about this link as far back as 1989. After reviewing dozens of internal documents, Dr. Joseph Glenmullen concluded that GSK improperly added reports of suicide to the placebo group of trial in order to create less of a disparity between the two groups.

Grassley, a frequent critic of the drug industry, sent a letter to Glaxo Wednesday, asking the company to clarify when it became aware of the suicide risks of its antidepressant. The senator also requests the company provide certain pages from Glenmullen's report which were not made public by the court.

Glenmullen claims that it is very unlikely that this was an accident as GSK continued to employ the same reporting practices over the next 15 years, drastically altering suicide statistics associated with Paxil. He say that if the results of trials would have been reported correctly they would have shown that Paxil was eight times more likely to cause suicidal behavior than a placebo.

The company denies any wrongdoing and maintains that they have always provided accurate trial and study information to government regulators.