FRANCE: JUSTICE MAKES A LINK BETWEEN THE USE OF DEPAKINE AND NEURO-CORPORTMENTAL DISORDERS
PARIS (Reuters) – The court of Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) on Thursday condemned the pharmaceutical laboratory Sanofi to compensate the parents of a victim exposed to Depakine during the pregnancy of his mother in a judgment which makes the link between the use of this treatment and the appearance of neurodevelopmental disorders.
In this judgment, which Reuters was able to consult, the magistrates point out that the family of the victim, now 16 years old, have provided proof of “imputability to exposure to Depakine of the dysmorphic elements listed by the experts, motor difficulties, delayed acquisition of walking, fine motor disorders (dyspraxia), global delay in acquisitions, attention disorders, fatigue, and neurobehavioral disorders of their daughter” .
According to estimates by Health Insurance and the Medicines Agency (ANSM), sodium valproate, the active ingredient of Depakine marketed since 1967, is responsible for malformations in 2,150 to 4,100 children and neurodevelopmental disorders in 16,600 to 30,400 children, which constitutes one of the biggest scandals linked to the pharmaceutical industry in France.
Reached by Reuters, the president of the Association for Helping Parents of Children with Anti-Convulsant Syndrome (Apesac) said on Saturday that she hoped that this sentence would lead Sanofi to “change its position and compensate the victims of Depakine “. “Now that the convictions follow one another they must change!” Said Marine Martin.
In its judgment, which Sanofi will challenge on appeal, the Nanterre court condemns the laboratory to pay more than 400,000 euros to the victim’s family in compensation for the multiple damages suffered.
French justice authorized in January the families of victims of Depakine, an anti-epileptic drug responsible for physical malformations and neuro-developmental disorders in children exposed in utero, to join a class action against the laboratory Sanofi.
Sanofi, indicted since 2020 in this case for “aggravated deception” and “unintentional injuries” after complaints from 42 families, and for “involuntary homicides” following a complaint from Apesac, but the laboratory also appealed of this decision.
(Tassilo Hummel report, written by Nicolas Delame)