NEW YORK - Glaxosmithkline, the pharmaceutical giant, has quietly settled a legal action alleging damaging side-effects in a blockbuster migraine drug.
Doctors have worried about the possible harm that Imigran, also known as Imitrex, could cause. The drug has annual sales of over £700m, worth more than £300m in profits .
The group is facing more than a dozen legal actions in the US alleging that the drug, which can be taken orally or injected, causes side-effects as severe as heart attacks, strokes or a wasting illness.
GSK is fighting the actions. However, the Independent on Sunday has learned that it is trying to settle some cases, and has struck a deal with one litigant for an undisclosed settlement. Sandra Larkins, a 50-year-old retired postal worker from Arkansas, was paid to drop her case last year.
One of the first people to use the drug in 1993 after Ms Larkins had been injecting Imitrex for a year, she was diagnosed with fatty necrosis, a disease that kills tissue cells and left her with "severe injuries and a catastrophic deformity". Doctors did save her legs.
In 1998 she filed a lawsuit for $30m, claiming Glaxo had made, marketed and sold a prescription drug which was dangerous and defective. Her lawyer, Michael London, told a New York judge that Glaxo had fraudulently misled not just Ms Larkins but the US Food and Drug Administration.
"Fifty-eight per cent of patients suffered an adverse reaction rate at the point of injection during clinical trials. What Glaxo didn't say is that this could get worse," said Mr London. A GSK spokeswoman said: "In keeping with the terms of the settlement ... we will not discuss any details."
Glaxo settles $30m claim
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