Celexa and Lexapro Refunds

A federal judge has ruled that parents, whose children were prescribed the antidepressants Celexa [citalopram] and/or Lexapro [escitalopram] are entitled to refunds.

Forest Laboratories and its subsidiary Forest Pharmaceuticals, have agreed to shell out up to $10.4 million in refunds.

Back in 2010 Forest  pleaded guilty to federal charges that its sales force team illegally marketed Celexa and Lexapro for use in children and teenagers when they knew that both drugs were only approved by the FDA to treat depression in adults. According to the charges, Forest bribed doctors with cash, meals and travel in efforts to persuade doctors to prescribe the drugs to children.

Why aren't we surprised by this anymore?

Once again we are seeing a pharmaceutical company quietly settle matters, once again there is no jail time for any of the executives, once again money is thrown at the problem.

The 2010 charges also allege that Forest covered up the negative results of their pediatric trials.

So they knew their drugs were no better than placebo yet still targeted doctors to prescribe them to kids.

Anyone familiar with the story Hansel and Gretel?

Dr. Greg Mattingly with his wife Judi

Dr. Greg Mattingly, a psychiatrist in St. Charles, was also named in court documents as one of the country’s top prescribers of Celexa. Evidence shows notes made from a phone call with Mattingly and a Forest sales representative where he agreed to include information about Celexa for children into his talks. Mattingly is alleged to have received more than $107,000 from Forest Pharmaceuticals in meals, travel and speaking fees in 2012 and close to $38,000 in 2013, according to trial documents.

Dr. Brian D. Barash

Dr. Brian Barash, a Kansas City psychiatrist and chief medical officer of the Marillac Children’s Psychiatric Treatment Center, was paid “thousands of dollars to give dozens of speeches to Missouri doctors about Celexa,” according to trial docuuments.

Take a good look at the photos above. Both have, it seems, been promoting drugs that not only don't work in children but drugs that are dangerous for children.

Forest has already agreed to pay out $313 million to settle allegations with the government and millions more in dozens of personal injury lawsuits.

• 13-year-old Andrew Tradd of Massachusetts, who died of a brain injury days after he tried to hang himself in 2004, two years after being prescribed Celexa. 
• The family of Danielle Henrikson, 15, sued the company after she hanged herself in her Idaho home the same year, weeks after starting the drug. 
• Alex Kim of Georgia, hanged himself in 2004 after his dosage of Lexapro was doubled.

Full article, 'Parents can get refunds for some anti-depressant drugs given to kids', here.

Celexa is known in the UK as Cipramil. Lexapro uses the brand name Cipralex in the UK.

Both drugs are also under scrutiny for causing birth defects.

More on the settlement agreement here.

Bob Fiddaman.

Forest Illegally Promoting Antidepressants For Kids!

Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Forest Laboratories, Inc. have been up to no good. Yet another pharmaceutical company who have, according to a new lawsuit, been holding back information concerning the effectiveness of two company drugs for the treatment of depression in pediatric patients. Those two drugs being the antidepressants Celexa and Lexapro.

Naughty, naughty.

The lawsuit, filed by two mothers from Missouri who are being represented by Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, PC and Pendley, Baudin & Coffin LLP, claims that "Forest marketed antidepressants Celexa (citalopram) and Lexapro (escitalopram) as effective for use in pediatric patients, even though studies showed evidence to the contrary".

The plaintiffs, Ruth Dunham and Tanya Shippy, allege "Forest deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed decision about whether to purchase or prescribe Celexa or Lexapro for their children by withholding information about the negative efficacy studies and engaging in an aggressive marketing campaign designed to mislead consumers and physicians".

A pharmaceutical company aggressively marketing drugs for kids when they knew the drugs weren't effective in kids?

Surely not, I mean stuff like this just doesn't happen, right?

U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton of Massachusetts stated in his ruling that the allegations are viable under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA). The MMPA prohibits “deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, unfair practice or the concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise in trade or commerce.”

Be interesting to see how this one goes. Forest will be up against it.

Baum Hedlund have represented more than 4,000 individuals across the US in personal injury and wrongful death cases involving harmful medications. They spanked those other pediatric suppressors, GlaxoSmithKline, on more than one occasion.

Celexa and Lexapro are antidepressants in the SSRi class, they work pretty much in the same way. Some believe [myself included] that Lexapro only ever came about because the patent for Celexa was running out. Change a molecule here and there, change the name, submit to the FDA and...VOILA...a new drug hits the market that does exactly the same as the older drug... in this instance does nothing, apart from causing suicidal ideation and self harm for pediatrics who take it!

Why promote anything that doesn't work? Moreover, why promote something that is dangerous for pediatrics?

Forest have, it appears, taken a leaf out of GSK's book here. Who can forget the Paxil 329 debacle?

Be interesting to see if any evidence comes out of this trial that shows yet more ghostwriting shenanigans or if Forest's reps were just as adamant as Glaxo reps to "get the sale" at whatever cost.

Grown men and women playing with children's lives. Don't you just love the pharmaceutical industry!

The full press release can be read on the Baum Hedlund website HERE.

Bob Fiddaman