Pathologist Who Lost $12 Million Gambling on Requip Can't Prove Causation

AUSTIN, Texas - A Texas judge has awarded summary judgment to GlaxoSmithKline and ordered that a plaintiff whose gambling habit was allegedly caused by the company's Parkinson's drug Requip take nothing against the manufacturer. Wells v. SmithKline Beecham Corporation, No. 06-126 (W.D. Texas).

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel of the Western District of Texas ruled Feb. 18 that Max Wells failed to provide sufficient evidence of general causation in support of allegations that Requip cause an impulsive gambling habit that cost him more than $12 million.

Judge Yeakel rejected the notion that one epidemiological study showing a more than two-fold …