Forest Labs targeted children & teens: Celexa, Lexapro suicide lawsuits being settled

Forest Labs, in recent news regarding illegal marketing of Lexapro and Celexa and fined by the DOJ--is once again in the news. This time for settling lawsuits for teen suicide and injury from kids who used the antidepressants Celexa and Lexapro--off label marketing via doctors at $1000 a pop lavish rewards---killed innocent children and now Forest Labs owes their families MONEY.

Nothing will bring those kids back, or the pain and suffering of those who used the drugs, all the while the Department of Justice hands out million dollar fines and the company Execs stay out of jail.
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"ST. LOUIS • A month after its Earth City subsidiary pleaded guilty of illegally marketing antidepressants to children and adolescents, Forest Laboratories is now settling a string of wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits from the parents of children who took the drugs Celexa and Lexapro.

Fifty-four lawsuits, mostly involving suicides and attempted suicides by teenagers in various parts of the country, accuse the New York-based pharmaceutical company of concealing a negative pediatric study on Celexa, duping physicians about the drug's clinical trials, and targeting children in aggressive promotions of Celexa and a sister drug, Lexapro.

Four of the cases were settled Friday, and two additional cases were settled in recent weeks.
A surge of related settlements, which could total millions of dollars, is expected in the months ahead as the pharmaceutical company attempts to move beyond the controversy surrounding its marketing of antidepressants to children.

Last month, the company's subsidiary — Forest Pharmaceuticals, based in Earth City — agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges involving its marketing and manufacturing practices and also to pay more than $300 million in criminal and civil penalties. The U.S. attorney's office in Boston is continuing to investigate the potential criminal liability of Forest officers and employees.

According to federal regulators, Forest waged an aggressive campaign from 1999 through at least 2005 to promote the use of Celexa and Lexapro in children and teenagers, although neither drug was approved for pediatric use."

VIA St.Louis Today.

Hat tip PharmaGossip.