Letter from the Editor; GSK rebuke over Seroxat trial

The world's second largest pharmaceutical firm, GlaxoSmithKline - an amalgamation of "legend" companies such as Glaxo, Wellcome and Beecham of the UK and US group SmithKline - has had a fairly unblemished reputation until now, but a British Broadcasting Corp's Panorama current affairs program, aired on January 29, appears to be denting this.

The program alleged that GSK attempted to show that its antidepressant Seroxat (paroxetine, trade-name Paxil in the USA) worked for depressed children, despite failed clinical trials in this population, and that GSK-employed ghostwriters influenced "independent" academics, citing "secret e-mails" had revealed that the firm distorted clinical covering up a link with suicide in teenagers.

Panorama quoted Karen Barth Menzies, a lawyer leading a US class actions against GSK on behalf of families whose children committed suicide when using the drug. She said that "even when they [GSK] have negative studies that show that this drug, Seroxat, is going to harm some kids, they still spin that study as remarkably effective and safe for children."