SEROXAT: the drug the BBC dares name

The media is never good at breaking stories when things go wrong with medicine, and they never want to know about potential risks and dangers. They seem to get involved only when the police are pounding on the hospital door, and there are plenty of victims who’ve all been assessed and confirmed by the medical authorities. In short, they play it safe. This is of no use at all for the many victims whose lives have already been damaged permanently, or those left to grieve for someone whose life was lost.

To give one example, we had all the documented evidence that showed the UK government was perpetrating a lie against the British public when it stated that the evidence they had received showed the MMR vaccine was safe. We placed the dossier with the Sunday Times, and they agreed to run the story. Later on, we were told the editor had decided to kill the story as he did not wish to alarm his readers. Subsequently, over 500 parents are taking action against the manufacturer after their children were permanently damaged or, in a few cases, died as a result of a reaction to the vaccine. Needless, the Sunday Times suddenly sat up and took notice.

So those of you in the UK who saw the BBC TV Panorama report on the antidepressant Seroxat last weekend might have felt this was an exception to the rule, and here at least was one example of cutting-edge, investigative journalism.

Unfortunately, it was yet another example of safe journalism. WDDTY did its first major story about the drug over five years ago, and the American drugs regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has ordered the manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), to strengthen its alert about reactions following sudden withdrawal of the drug. GSK has also been in breach of the international pharmaceutical code of practice after it claimed on American television that no patient had suffered from a sudden withdrawal of the drug. The manufacturer is also facing over 60 lawsuits, which are working their way through the American legal system.

Perhaps the Panorama investigative team was not as groundbreaking as first thought, after all.

* To find out more about the dangers of drugs, read the WDDTY Secrets of the Drugs Industry. Visit our website: http://www.wddty.co.uk to order your copy.