It looks like they are part of the infamous money bag documents that leaked out some time ago.
They make a very interesting read in as much one can see that GSK, then SmithKline Beecham, really wanted to promote Seroxat because they knew they were on to a nice little earner.
The Foreword was written by Paul N Jenner MD, he writes:
Seroxat/Paxil has shown outstanding success since its first launch in 1991 and now represents one of SmithKline Beecham's biggest and most important assets. Worldwide internal flash sales in 1997 exceeded £1 billion, and history was made in the US when Paxil became SB's US's first billion-dollar product. Through our highly skilled sales and marketing efforts we have demonstrated that we can overtake fluoxetine and sertraline to become number one and achieve our aim of marketing the world's biggest selling antidepressant. This has already happened in a number of markets, and the promise of new indications and further reinforcement of Seroxat/Paxil's unique positioning as the best agent for treating depression and depression with associated anxiety symptoms brings this goal ever closer.
Thank you for all your efforts to date. As we enter the new millennium, we look forward to making Seroxat/Paxil's SB's first £2 billion product.
Paul N Jenner
Director and Vice President
Neuroscience
World Strategic Product Development
****
As you can see, there is no mention of how this drug can help people, it is merely a memo of sorts to the employees of SKB thanking them for their efforts. This is all about money, it has nothing to do with how safe the product is.
It's interesting to learn that Paul N Jenner's name also appears on the publication - WO/1999/003469, TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF CARDIAC DISORDERS USING SELECTIVE SEROTONIN RE-UPTAKE INHIBITORS (SSRI)
The claims of this publication are:
Claims 1. A method for treating and/or preventing cardiac disorders in human or non-human animals, which method comprises administering an effective, non-toxic amount of an SSRI or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, to a human or non-human animal in need thereof.
2. Use of an SSRI or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof in the manufacture of a medicament for use in the treatment of and/or prevention of cardiac disorders.
3. A method according to claim 1 or use according to claim 2 wherein the SSRI is selected from the group consisting of paroxetine, fluoxetine, citalopram and fluvoxamine.
4. A pharmaceutical composition for use in the treatment and/or prevention of cardiac disorders which comprises an effective amount of an SSRI or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
The second file available on Christopher Lane's site is entitled 'Towards the Second Billion -- All SSRIs Are Not the Same'.
The most interesting find, for me at least, was the wording of the last paragraph:
Seroxat/Paxil - efficacy across the depression - anxiety spectrum
It is well accepted that psychiatric patients do not present with neat clusters of symptoms. Rather the clinician often has to play 'detective' in eliciting which symptoms predominate and thereby understand what the primary diagnosis might be. The efficacy of Seroxat/Paxil across a wide range of symptoms and often overlapping diagnoses helps substantially in removing the potential for confusion and inappropriate management. This positioning has been very successful in many markets.
This is all one huge game. I have said it all along, I made my feelings crystal clear to Kent Woods, CEO of the MHRA when we met back in September. The onus is put on doctors, doctors that have inadequate training when it comes to spotting whether someone is deeply depressed or merely just feeling a little down. SKB's internal document shows how doctors all over the world are being manipulated and used as pawns in one of the biggest scams in the history of medicine.
Men, women and children have died as a result of taking Seroxat. Babies have been harmed, families have been ripped apart, needless withdrawal suffering continues to this day because SKB put profit before patient safety.
Seroxat is still being prescribed all over the world, the evidence that has been presented to the FDA, TGA and MHRA clearly shows that SKB's mission wasn't to make people better, it was merely to make billions of pounds.
This is utterly shameful. I spit in the direction of SKB/GSK for the wanton disregard of human life they have shown regarding Seroxat.
I have sick in my mouth as I write this. SKB/GSK disgust me!
Fid
Hat Tip - Furious Seasons
Read the new book, The Evidence, However, Is Clear...The Seroxat Scandal
By Bob Fiddaman
ISBN: 978-1-84991-120-7
CHIPMUNKA PUBLISHING
AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD HERE
PAPERBACK COMING SOON
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