Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Inc. is facing lawsuits that accuse the firm of downplaying potential negative psychiatric effects of its asthma medication Singulair, including thoughts of suicide.
Singulair, also known as montelukast, was launched by Merck in 1998, with the product label stating that the drug’s distribution in the brain was “minimal.” The company also did not mention any psychiatric side effects that could result from consuming the medication.
More than two decades since, several reports of neuropsychiatric problems have popped up among patients who used Singulair, including children. Side effects include hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, and depression.
Merck is now facing multiple lawsuits insisting that the company knew early on that the medication could affect the brain, and that Merck lied to regulators about potential psychiatric side effects….