Appeals Court Affirms Summary Judgment to GSK in Paxil Suicide Case

VENTURA, Calif. - A state appeals court has affirmed an award of summary judgment to Paxil maker GlaxoSmithKline after determining that a physician who prescribed the drug to a patient who eventually killed himself would not have acted any differently had he been made aware of the drug's alleged suicidal side effects. Lord v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., No. B192452 (Calif. Ct. App., 2nd Dist.).

The California Second District Court of Appeal upheld the award Dec. 19, holding that the doctor's testimony indicating that he never read the Paxil warning label prior to prescribing the drug rebuts any heeding presumption that …