NEW YORK – GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) has agreed to disclose information on all clinical studies of its drugs to settle a lawsuit that accused it of withholding negative information about the antidepressant Paxil, the New York Attorney General's office said Thursday.
GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay $2.5 million and will register the results of clinical trials, detailing safety and drug effectiveness, for all studies done after Dec. 27, 2000, and relevant earlier studies, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (search) said.
Spitzer, in a lawsuit filed in Junucted at least five studies on the use of Paxil in children and adolescents, but released only one of the studies.
The company said the charges are "unfounded" and said it settled to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation.
GlaxoSmithKline on June 18 said it would reveal details of its clinical studies, but the settlement gives the company a formal timetable to disclose those studies, Glaxo spokeswoman Nancy Pekarek said.
Summaries of the clinical studies are expected to be posted online between now and Dec. 31, 2005, Spitzer said.
The drug industry has been criticized for keeping quiet about negative results from clinical trials, since bad publicity would make product marketing more difficult.
GlaxoSmithKline published its Paxil studies on its corporate Website in June in response the public concerns, the company said.
Shares of GlaxoSmithKline rose 55 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $40.83 on the New York Stock Exchange (search).
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