Glaxo blasts 'bully' Spitzer

13 April 2012

GLAXOSMITHKLINE boss Jean-Pierre Garnier is raising the stakes in the drugs giant's battle with US regulators, accusing them of 'bullying' and even 'extortion'.

And the company was able to offer shareholders some good news, after days of disastrous headlines, by announcing positive results from the latest Phase II clinical trials of its breast cancer treatment lapatinib.

But new trouble is looming after the UK drugs regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, said it was preparing to publish a report into how the company disclosed alarming data about its controversial antidepressant Seroxat.

The Department of Health says: 'It will be published shortly.'

Clinical studies suggest Seroxat increases the risk of suicide and self-harm when prescribed for those under 18. The MHRA banned its use for minors a year ago.

Last week New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer sued the company, claiming it covered up data about the drug, sold there as Paxil. He accused it of 'persistent fraud'.

Garnier denounced the 'almighty attorney office from mid-Manhattan' and said there was 'a significant amount of bullying' in Spitzer's tactics.

He argued the drugs industry is being held to higher standards than other industries. 'I don't have a problem with the standards but I do have a problem with extortion.'

Glaxo says it disclosed all data to regulators 'in a responsible and timely manner'.

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