Dive Brief:
- Pfizer is currently facing more than 1,000 lawsuits from plaintiffs who claim that Zoloft (sertraline) led to birth defects in children whose mothers took Zoloft during pregnancy, and that Pfizer failed to disclose the risk of birth defects.
- A jury has decided that prenatal exposure to Zoloft did not cause Rachel Robinson's birth defects.
- This is the second case that has been decided so far, and in both cases, Pfizer has won.
Dive Insight:
Pfizer has been facing these lawsuits in response so a report that was released last year linking Zoloft with various cardiac birth defects; however, in 2011, the FDA said that it was premature to link SSRI use during pregnancy with birth defects in offspring. The FDA even advised physicians to not change their prescribing practices.
So far, Pfizer is two for two as these cases go to court and are deliberated by juries. Last week, jurors in St. Louis rejected the claim that Logyn Pesante's heart abnormalities were related to his mother taking Pfizer's Zoloft during her pregnancy.
As for this case, a group of jurors in a state court in Philadelphia took less than a day to decide that there was not a link and that Pfizer should not be held responsible. Of course, more cases are coming, and while it's not clear what the outcomes will be, so far things are going well for Pfizer.