Bad Drugs? State Slams GlaxoSmithKline With Lawsuit

Now for some bad news. A popular antidepressant and antinausea med for cancer patients, as well as other vital drugs, might have been "adulterated" in the factory, according to a recent Broward County Civil Court filing. ...

By Victoria Bekiempis

June 29, 2011

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Now for some bad news.

A popular antidepressant and antinausea med for cancer patients, as well as other vital drugs, might have been "adulterated" in the factory, according to a recent Broward County Civil Court filing.

British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline, according to the filing, made and distributed subpar batches of Paxil, Kytril, Bactroban, and Avandamet at one of its biggest factories, in Puerto Rico, from 2001 until 2004.

The State Attorney General's Office says that GSK "manufactured and put into the stream of commerce" a plethora of pills, ointments, and injectables that were "substandard."

No word yet on whether anyone got sick or died from these meds.

But the state's lawsuit, filed on several Floridians' behalf, is trying to get GSK to pay up for what it calls "fraudulent" and "deceptive" business tactics -- allegedly marketing a defective product as an effective one.

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