Side Effects (Bass book)

Side Effects
AuthorAlison Bass
LanguageEnglish
Series1
Subject
GenreNon-fiction
PublisherAlgonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Publication date
June 17, 2008
Media typeHardcover
Pages260
ISBN978-1-565-12553-7
LC ClassKF228.S685B37 2008

Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial is a nonfiction book by investigative journalist Alison Bass that chronicles the lawsuit filed in 2004 against GlaxoSmithKline by then New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.[1]

Also examined is how Donna Howard, a former assistant administrator for Brown University’s department of Psychiatry, exposed deception in the research and marketing of Paxil, an antidepressant prescribed to millions of children and adults.[2] The book shows the connections between pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (the maker of Paxil), a top Ivy League research institution, and the government agency designed to protect the public – conflicted relationships that may have compromised the health and safety of vulnerable children.

Side Effects also explores the controversy over drugs used to treat clinical depression, with a special focus on Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft. The book provides evidence of medical researchers "skewing results on behalf of pharmaceutical companies" that pay for the studies; pharmaceutical companies "marketing medicines without adequately disclosing adverse impacts;" and government agencies "unable or unwilling to adequately protect consumers," who sometimes die as a result.[3][4]

  1. ^ "MAJOR PHARMACEUTICAL FIRM CONCEALED DRUG INFORMATION". ag.ny.gov. 2010-03-27. Archived from the original on 2010-03-27. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  2. ^ "Side Effects by Alison Bass". PopMatters. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  3. ^ Weinberg, Steve (2008-07-25). "'Side Effects' humanizes antidepressant debate". USATODAY.com. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  4. ^ Friedman, Richard A. (2009-03-05). "Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial". The New England Journal of Medicine. 358 (26). doi:10.1056/NEJMbkrev0803656. Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2020-12-27.