Husband of Mass. Woman Sues GlaxoSmithKline over her Suicide

WORCESTER, Mass. - The husband of a Massachusetts woman who committed suicide in June 2003 has filed a lawsuit against her physician and GlaxoSmithKline Inc., linking her death to the antidepressant Wellbutrin (bupropion). Routhier v. Keenan, No. 04-01359-B (Mass. Super., Worcester).

Allan Routhier contends in his July 13 complaint that his late wife's symptoms were misdiagnosed as depression and that she shot herself within days of beginning a prescription for Wellbutrin.

Wellbutrin inhibits the reuptake of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine, but unlike selective serotinin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), its major effect is on dopamine, according to Routhier.

He complains that his …