Documents Link Prozac To Suicide

The British Medical Journal reported in its January 2005 issue that they received documents from an anonymous source that indicated that Prozac’s manufacturer, Eli Lilly & Co., was aware in the 1980s that the drug could have potentially troubling side effects.

The Journal said that the documents which had reportedly been missing for a decade had formed part of a 1994 lawsuit on behalf of victims of a workplace shooting in Louisville, KY, where eight people were killed after an employee had been on Prozac for a month.

The Journal said a record dated November 1988 reported that Prozac had caused "behavioral disturbances" in clinic trials.  Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-NY, said that he had some of the documents cited by the Journal article.  Congressman Hinchey said they "clearly show a link between Prozac and actions of violence perpetrated by people taking the drug against themselves and against others.  The documents we have show that the company was instructing its employees to hide this information.

We’re seeing evidence here that it was a conscious act on the part of the company."

Eli Lilly responded to the FDA saying that, "To our knowledge, there has never been any allegation of missing documents.  Lilly has consistently provided regulatory agencies worldwide with results from both clinical trials and post marketing surveillance."

SOURCE: St. Petersburg Times newspaper, January 1, 2005.