Report: GSK paid nearly $1 billion for Paxil suits

NEW YORK British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline has paid nearly $1 billion to settle lawsuits filed by patients taking one of its antidepressant drugs, according to published reports.

Bloomberg reported Monday, based on court documents and people familiar with the lawsuits, that GSK had paid $400 million to settle alleged problems with design, antitrust and fraud, $390 million for attempted and completed suicides and $200 million for addiction and birth-defect cases in lawsuits concerning the drug Paxil (paroxetine hydrochloride) since the drug’s 1993 introduction.

Paxil had $837.6 million in 2008, according to GSK financial reports. Several companies market generic versions of the drug.