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Firm 'Knew of Prozac Side-Effects'

The antidepressant drug Prozac may cause patients to become suicidal and violent, according to leaked medical documents.

by John Crowley

Papers given to the British Medical Journal suggest that Eli Lilly, the manufacturer, had known about the potentially dangerous side-effects of Prozac since the 1980s.

The document emerged from a civil case brought against the company after a man taking Prozac killed eight people before killing himself in Kentucky in 1989.

Dr Richard Kapit, the FDA clinical reviewer who approved Prozac, told the BMJ that he was not shown the internal report.

"These data are very important," he said. "if this report was done by Lilly, or for Lilly, it was their responsibility to report it to us to publish it."

Eli Lilly said in response to the article, "Prozac is one of the most studied drugs in the history of medicine. The safety and efficacy of Prozac is well studied, well documented and well established."

Sources

  • The Daily Telegrap