Glaxo Reportedly Settles Paxil Birth Defects Lawsuits for $1 Billion

London, EnglandGlaxoSmithKline recently announced that it had settled a number of Paxil birth defect lawsuits but didn't release any specific financial details.

The UK's largest drug manufacturer had set aside nearly $2.4 billion in the second quarter to handle Paxil lawsuits, as well as cases stemming from its diabetes medication, Avandia, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Of the Paxil lawsuits, the drug maker told the news source in an email that it "has reached agreement to settle certain cases involving the use of Paxil during pregnancy. The details of those settlements are confidential. Other cases remain pending."

GlaxoSmithKline would not comment on a report from Bloomberg that it had agreed to pay more than $1 billion to settle the more than 800 cases alleging Paxil birth defects.

In its email, the drug company also said it "considers options for every case, including settlement when it makes sense. The company has agreed to these settlements, despite its litigation defenses, in order to avoid the costs, burdens and uncertainties of ongoing litigation."

In a study of more than 3,500 women, the FDA found that Paxil was connected to twice as many birth defects as other antidepressants.