Paxil

History of Paxil

In the 1960s a Danish company named Ferrosan began performing research on aspects of the central nervous system. Ferrosan was most interested in the relationship between the neurotransmitter serotonin and depressed mood in people. The original idea was that if a drug could be developed to increase serotonin levels in the brain it might lead to improvements in treating people with depression (DeGrandpre, 2006). The research resulted in the development of a formula for a compound then known as the "Buus-Lassen Compound" which allegedly had the capability to relieve the depression in people. The compound was patented in the United States in 1977 and the company later sold all rights and research surrounding this patent to SmithKline (now GlaxoSmithKline) in 1980 (DeGrandpre, 2006).

SmithKline put significant effort into developing the compound and much of this development occurred in the SmithKline plant in Harlow, England (DeGrandpre, 2006)....
[ View Full Essay]