The lawsuits (Cases 110517/08, 110518/08, 110519/08, 110520/08 and 110561/08) were filed in the Supreme Court of New York, New York County, and claim that each of the plaintiffs either committed or attempted suicide while suffering from neuropsychiatric side effects that resulted from taking Chantix.

Chantix has been prescribed to more than 6 million people worldwide since its launch in August 2006 and has been approved for use in more than 70 countries as a drug to assist adults who want to quit smoking. However, recent studies have shown that Chantix may cause serious adverse side effects, such as suicidal thoughts and erratic behavior.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert “to highlight important revisions to the warnings and precautions sections of the prescribing information for Chantix regarding serious neuropsychiatric symptoms.”

“We’ve been investigating claims regarding Chantix ever since the FDA’s initial communications about reported side effects, so our firm was well-prepared to vigorously represent our clients when we were contacted by their families,” said Grossman. “For those familiar with this year’s Tony Award-winning play, ‘August: Osage County,’ which has sparked debate about the risks of suicide and dysfunction stemming from prescription drug use, the fact that we are filing these actions on the eve of August 1st is a tragic illustration of life imitating art.”

The filing of the Chantix lawsuits continues an extremely active year for Sanders Viener Grossman, in which the firm has secured a series of large settlements on behalf of its clients. The firm recently recovered large settlements for approximately 300 plaintiffs involved in the Vioxx-related litigation with Merck & Co. Last month, Sanders Viener Grossman recovered $8 million in damages for its clients over a span of just eight days, including a $5 million recovery in a product liability case.

According to Grossman, the firm has extensive experience with defective drug litigation and can provide Chantix victims with free consultations and case reviews to make sure their legal rights are protected.

For more information about Sanders Viener Grossman LLP, please visit www.thesandersfirm.com or call 1.800.FAIRPLAY.

Author Information

Marc Grossman
Sanders Viener Grossman LLP

Suits allege harm from Pfizer quit-smoking drug

NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Three personal injury lawsuits were filed against Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) on Thursday, claiming its smoking-cessation drug Chantix caused attempted suicides or death.

The suits, all filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan by the same plaintiffs’ law firm, claim Pfizer failed to notify doctors and patients about dangers the company allegedly knew about the pill — including depression and suicidal thoughts–at the time the plaintiffs took the medicine.

And even though Pfizer subsequently added warnings to its package insert, the law firm alleged the drug label is still inadequate.

Pfizer introduced Chantix in the United States in 2006, with hopes it would become a huge product that would help revive flagging company profits, but its sales have wilted amid concern about side effects.

“Defendant intentionally, recklessly, and/or negligently concealed, suppressed, omitted, and/or misrepresented the risks, dangers, defects and disadvantages of Chantix,” attorney Marc Grossman alleged in all three lawsuits.

Grossman is with the Mineola, New York law firm of Sanders Viener Grossman LLP.

Pfizer could not immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Ransdell Pierson and Bill Berkrot; editing by Carol Bishopric)