GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C., the manufacturer of Paxil which is linked to birth defects, agreed to pay over $1 billion out of the $2.4 billion it has set aside to settle hundreds of lawsuits. The $1 billion will mean that each claimant will receive about $1.2 million. This massive settlement represents over 800 cases related to the use of Paxil and associated birth defects. GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. confirmed that over 100 cases are still pending and are scheduled for trial in Philadelphia .

GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. would not release details of the settlements stating that the information is confidential. GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. stated the company has agreed to settle these lawsuits to avoid future costs and potential litigation problems.

Food & Drug Administration (FDA) instructed the makers of antidepressants such as Paxil to revise their labels to include information about PPN in July of 2006. In the same year a study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed babies born to mothers who were taking these drugs, know as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), during the second half of pregnancy had a significantly increased risk of being born with PPPHN.

In October 2009, a Philadelphia jury ordered GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. to pay $2.5 million to a family whose child was born with heart defects. This represented the first lawsuit related to Paxil and birth defects that a pharmaceutical company has lost setting a precedent for over 600 other similar cases. In a 10-2 ruling, the jury found that GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C., “negligently failed to warn” consumers about the potential risk of birth defects for mothers who took the medication during pregnancy stating that the antidepressant was a “factual cause” of the child’s heart defects.