Consumer Protest Against GlaxoSmithKline Antidepressant Paxil

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., /PR Leap/ — Consumer drug advocates from the United States, Canada and elsewhere are converging on pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline's Philadelphia, PA corporate headquarters September 26th through 28th to demonstrate against the company's top selling antidepressant drug called Paxil.

Several hundred people are expected to participate in the protest over the course of the three-day event.

"Recent media attention has swirled around the apparent link between Paxil and suicide, yet the common side effect of withdrawal from the drug has largely been overlooked," stated events coordinator Rob Robinson.

Robinson added that "a review of the medical literature shows that, on average, over one-third of people taking Paxil for any extended period of time experience withdrawal symptoms, and of those, 21% experience severe withdrawal symptoms. In the clinical trials of Paxil, a significant percentage of patients (up to 50% according to some studies) experienced withdrawal."

"I think the best the public could hope for coming out of this event is for GlaxoSmithKline to initiate a phased withdrawal of Paxil from the marketplace in conjunction with worldwide regulatory agencies, Robinson said. At the same we would hope to see production of Paxil tablets in 1/4, 1/2, 1 and 5 milligram doses so patients will have a better chance of getting off the drug using a tapering regimen as recommended by GlaxoSmithKline in Paxil's prescribing information (http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_paxil.pdf) Finally, we would like to see the Food and Drug Administration (US) implement a risk management program to ensure patients and physicians are fully informed of risks and possible benefits of Paxil if the drug remains on the market."

Survivors and families of individuals who have taken SSRI/SNRI drugs including Prozac, Effexor and Zoloft are expected to attend the protest in a show of community support.

A plane towing a Paxil Protest banner will fly overhead during the event.

The http://www.paxilprotest.com web site for the protest, launched on August 8th, 2005, has received over a half million hits.

Contact:

Rob Robinson
Event Coordinator
The Paxil Protest
+1-423-313-5203 (cell)
http://www.paxilprotest.com


SOURCE: The Paxil Protest
Web Site: http://www.paxilprotest.com