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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Thirty Utah residents joined 4,000 people nationwide in suing the makers of the popular anti-depressant Paxil.
The suit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court claims they suffered severe reactions after attempting to stop taking Paxil, and would not have taken it in the first place if they had been sufficiently warned of the possible withdrawal reactions.
The suit will be transferred to a multidistrict litigation court based in Los Angeles.
It accuses Paxil maker GlaxoSmithKline of fraud and fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation and marketing, breach of express warranty, negligence, strict liability, unjust enrichment and violations of the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act.
It asks monetary compensation and injunctive relief requiring GlaxoSmithKline to stop its allegedly false marketing.
Earlier this week, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued GlaxoSmithKline for consumer fraud, contending the drug maker failed to tell physicians that studies showed that Paxil was not effective in adolescent patients and may be linked to come cases of suicide.
The drug company said it "has acted responsibly in conducting clinical studies in pediatric patients and disseminating data from those studies."
GlaxoSmithkline did not return calls by The Associated Press on Thursday.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
