Pfizer has filed a motion to dismiss all Zoloft lawsuits brought on behalf of children who allegedly suffered birth defects as a result of exposure to the antidepressant drug while their mothers were pregnant.

Pfizer filed the motion after the judge presiding over the consolidated multi-district Zoloft birth defects lawsuits ruled to exclude key expert witness testimony in the cases.

Pfizer is facing over 500 product liability lawsuits, all of which allege that Pfizer was aware that the antidepressant Zoloft had dangerous side effects and Zoloft caused children to be born with severe birth defects.

All of the Zoloft lawsuits are consolidated as part of a federal MDL, or multidistrict litigation, which is centralized before U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

In August, Judge Rufe issued an order restricting what some plaintiffs’ experts will be allowed to testify about regarding the connection between Zoloft and birth defects. While the experts will be permitted to testify on matters other than human causation, the ruling may leave plaintiffs without sufficient evidence to support their claim.

In response, Pfizer’s legal team filed a motion for summary judgment, urging Judge Rufe to dismiss all cases in the MDL due to the lack of reliable testimony on general causation in humans.

Pfizer argues that the Zoloft lawsuits filed over birth defects suffered by children of women who used the antidepressant during pregnancy should fail as a matter of law, since the exclusion of expert witnesses has left plaintiffs without admissible and sufficient evidence to establish an essential element of their claims.

An opposition to Pfizer’s motion to dismiss the Zoloft birth defect cases must be filed before Dec. 8, with any reply by Pfizer due by Dec. 22.

Zoloft Birth Defect Risk

Zoloft (sertraline) is used by millions of Americans to treat depression. More specifically, pregnant women have been prescribed Zoloft to help with anxiety involved with their pregnancies. The fetuses of women using Zoloft or other SSRI antidepressants are allegedly at a greater risk of developing a birth defect.

Several studies have suggested that use of Zoloft by pregnant women has been linked to a potential increased risk of serious and potentially life-threatening birth defects and malformation of children. According to the British Medical Journal, SSRIs carry twice the risk of other congenital heart defects overall when taken during pregnancy.

Also, the New England Journal of Medicine found that children born to women who took Zoloft specifically during pregnancy faced increased risks of birth defects when compared to those who did not take SSRI antidepressants.

FDA Zoloft Birth Defect Warnings

In November 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added warnings about a potential risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborns (PPHN) from Zoloft and other newer antidepressants when taken after the 20th week of pregnancy. The side effects of Zoloft and other similar medications were linked to a six times greater risk of PPHN.

In June 2007, studies found an association between the use of antidepressants like Zoloft early in the pregnancy and a risk of abnormal skull development, gastrointestinal abnormality and brain defects.

All of the claims in the Zoloft birth defect lawsuits raise similar allegations, claiming that Pfizer has known for years about the risk of birth defects, yet withheld information from consumers and the medical community in an attempt to avoid loss of sales of the popular antidepressant.