The Nanterre court sentenced the laboratory on Thursday to compensate a family whose daughter born with malformations was exposed to this treatment.
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The French group Sanofi was sentenced, Thursday, May 12 by the Nanterre court, to compensate up to 450,000 euros to a family whose daughter, exposed to Dépakine in utero, was born with malformations. The court considered that the risk of autistic disorders in connection with Depakine was known to the laboratory, at least in 2005, and that consequently, it had the duty to mention it in the notice, according to the judgment consulted on Saturday by the AFP.
“This decision to condemn the laboratory marks a turning point for the individual recognition of each of the children exposed to Dépakine”reacted to AFP the family lawyer, Charles Joseph-Oudin, calling on the group to “change behavior in all procedures”. According to him, the laboratory “must now come to terms with reason and take care of the hard-hit families with dignity” by the drug.
According to the judgment, the laboratory recognized in 2003 that it was aware of the risks, in particular neurodevelopmental. He therefore had a duty to inform patients in his instructions. It was only in 2006 that it advised against Depakine during pregnancy and recommended the rapid consultation of a doctor in the event of discovery of such a state, specifies the judgment.
In Nanterre, this file is the first of a long series to be judged on the merits. In total, the court is seized of 23 files, including one involving 272 applicants, according to a judicial source. A group action launched in 2017 by the victims’ association Apesac was deemed admissible by the Paris court, which ruled on January 5 that Sanofi had “committed a fault by failing in its obligation of vigilance and its obligation to inform”. The laboratory has announced that it is appealing this decision.