This grade answers one narrow question: how strong is the public evidence and safety record behind this drug, and how clean is its money trail and court record? It is not a verdict on whether the drug is right for you.
Suicidality and Antidepressant Drugs Antidepressants increased the risk compared to placebo of suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality) in children, adolescents, and young adults in short-term studies of major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders. Anyone considering the use of paroxetine tablets or any other antidepressant in a child, adolescent, or young adult must balance this risk with the clinical need. Short-term studies did not show an increase in the risk of suicidality with antidepressants compared to placebo in adults beyond age 24; there was a reduction in risk with antidepressants compared to placebo in adults aged 65 and older. Depression and certain other psychiatric disorders are themselves associated with increases in the risk of suicide. Patients of all ages who are started on antidepressant therapy should be monitored appropriately and observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, or unusual changes in behavior. Families and caregivers should be advised of the need for close observation and communication with the prescriber. Paroxetine tablets are not approved for use in pediatric patients (see WARNINGS, Clinical Worsening and Suici...
Listed on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines: a global expert panel judged it among the medicines a health system should always have, on evidence of value, not marketing.
INDICATIONS AND USAGE Major Depressive Disorder Paroxetine tablets are indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder. The efficacy of paroxetine in the treatment of a major depressive episode was established in 6-week controlled trials of outpatients whose diagnoses corresponded most closely to the DSM-III category of major depressive disorder (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, Clinical Trials ). A major depressive episode implies a prominent and relatively persistent depressed or dysphoric mood that usually interferes with daily functioning (nearly every day for at least 2 weeks); it should include at least 4 of the following 8 symptoms: Change in appetite, change in sleep, psychomotor agitation or retardation, loss of interest in usual activities or decrease in sexual drive, increased fatigue, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, slowed thinking or impaired concentration, and a suicide attempt or suicidal ideation. The effects of paroxetine in hospitalized depressed patients have not been adequately studied. The efficacy of paroxetine in maintaining a response in major depressive disorder for up to 1 year was demonstrated in a placebo-controlled trial (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOG...
CONTRAINDICATIONS The use of MAOIs intended to treat psychiatric disorders with paroxetine tablets or within 14 days of stopping treatment with paroxetine tablets is contraindicated because of an increased risk of serotonin syndrome. The use of paroxetine within 14 days of stopping an MAOI intended to treat psychiatric disorders is also contraindicated (see WARNINGS and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ). Starting paroxetine tablets in a patient who is being treated with MAOIs such as linezolid or intravenous methylene blue is also contraindicated because of an increased risk of serotonin syndrome (see WARNINGS and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ). Concomitant use with thioridazine is contraindicated (see WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS ). Concomitant use in patients taking pimozide is contraindicated (see PRECAUTIONS ). Paroxetine tablets are contraindicated in patients with a hypersensitivity to paroxetine or any of the inactive ingredients in paroxetine tablets.
WARNINGS Clinical Worsening and Suicide Risk Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), both adult and pediatric, may experience worsening of their depression and/or the emergence of suicidal ideation and behavior (suicidality) or unusual changes in behavior, whether or not they are taking antidepressant medications, and this risk may persist until significant remission occurs. Suicide is a known risk of depression and certain other psychiatric disorders, and these disorders themselves are the strongest predictors of suicide. There has been a long-standing concern, however, that antidepressants may have a role in inducing worsening of depression and the emergence of suicidality in certain patients during the early phases of treatment. Pooled analyses of short-term placebo-controlled trials of antidepressant drugs (SSRIs and others) showed that these drugs increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality) in children, adolescents, and young adults (ages 18 to 24) with major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders. Short-term studies did not show an increase in the risk of suicidality with antidepressants compared to placebo in adults beyond age ...
ADVERSE REACTIONS Associated With Discontinuation of Treatment Twenty percent (1,199/6,145) of patients treated with paroxetine in worldwide clinical trials in major depressive disorder and 16.1% (84/522), 11.8% (64/542), 9.4% (44/469), and 10.7% (79/735) of patients treated with paroxetine in worldwide trials in social anxiety disorder, OCD, panic disorder, and GAD respectively, discontinued treatment due to an adverse event. The most common events (≥1%) associated with discontinuation and considered to be drug related (i.e., those events associated with dropout at a rate approximately twice or greater for paroxetine compared to placebo) included the following: Major Depressive Disorder OCD Panic Disorder Social Anxiety Disorder Generalized Anziety Disorder Paroxetine Placebo Paroxetine Placebo Paroxetine Placebo Paroxetine Placebo Paroxetine Placebo CNS Somnolence 2.3% 0.7% — 1.9% 0.3% 3.4% 0.3% 2.0% 0.2% Insomnia — — 1.7% 0% 1.3% 0.3% 3.1% 0% Agitation 1.1% 0.5% — Tremor 1.1% 0.3% — 1.7% 0% Anxiety — — — 1.1% 0% Dizziness — — 1.5% 0% 1.9% 0% 1.0% 0.2% Gastrointestinal Constipation — 1.1% 0% Nausea 3.2% 1.1% 1.9% 0% 3.2% 1.2% 4.0% 0.3% 2.0% 0.2% Diarrhea 1.0% 0.3% — Dry mouth 1.0...
Source: FDA SPL label for PAROXETINE (Aphena Pharma Solutions - Tennessee, LLC), effective 20181105. Full label on DailyMed.
These are counts of reports people filed, not rates of harm. Anyone can file one, and nobody checks whether the drug was the cause. Millions of doses are taken for every report sent, so the useful part is how this drug compares with the average across all drugs.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,060 | 4,956 | 4,030 | 3,416 | 3,094 | 2,831 | 3,092 | 1,613 |
2,070 reports blaming this drug for every million Medicare prescriptions filled, which is 0.7× the typical drug on this site. (7,204 reports in 2024–2026, against 3,479,484 Medicare fills in one year. This is the one number here that accounts for how many people take the drug.)
Source: the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Reports are voluntary and unverified. Drugs that are prescribed a lot, in the news, or in lawsuits attract more reports, so the percentages are compared with the whole database to correct for that partly, not fully.
| Date | Class | Firm | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09/2026 | Class II | Apotex Corp. | Failed dissolution specifications. |
| 11/2017 | Class II | Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA Inc | Presence of Foreign Tablets/Capsules: Risperidone Tablets were found in bottle of Paroxetine Tablets |
| 10/2017 | Class II | Amerisource Health Services | Presence of Foreign Tablets/Capsules. |
| 08/2017 | Class II | Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA Inc | Presence of Foreign tablets/capsules: risperidone Tablets were found in bottle of paroxetine Tablets |
| 06/2017 | Class III | Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. | Failed Dissolution Specifications: out of specification observed in dissolution testing at 3 month long term stability study. |
| 03/2014 | Class II | Apotex Inc. | Chemical Contamination: Product were manufactured with active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) batches contaminated with residual materials and solvents. |
| 03/2014 | Class II | Apotex Inc. | Chemical Contamination: Product were manufactured with active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) batches contaminated with residual materials and solvents. |
| 03/2014 | Class II | Apotex Inc. | Chemical Contamination: Product were manufactured with active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) batches contaminated with residual materials and solvents. |
Class I = reasonable probability of serious harm. Class II = temporary or reversible harm. Class III = unlikely to harm. Most generic recalls are manufacturing or labeling defects for one lot, not a verdict on the molecule.
Counts measure how much evidence exists and how transparent it is, not how big the benefit is. For that, ask your prescriber: if 100 people like me took this, how many would get better because of it, and how many would be harmed? (Doctors call these the "number needed to treat" and "number needed to harm.") It differs by condition and is the number drug ads leave out. Sources: PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov.
In 2024, drug companies reported $0 in payments to US physicians and hospitals tied to this drug across 0 transactions.
No pending federal MDL names this drug or its brands.
Settlements of $100M+ in which this drug (Paxil) was a named product, as recorded by the Department of Justice. A settlement resolves allegations; civil settlements are not admissions and not findings of wrongdoing. They are shown because off-label promotion cases describe how the evidence many prescribers saw was shaped.
Sources: CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act); Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation pending docket list; DOJ settlements as tabulated on Wikipedia with links to the primary record. State-court and individual suits are not included.
| Product | Fills | $/fill |
|---|---|---|
| Paroxetine HCl | 3,371,882 | $14 |
| Paroxetine ER | 60,111 | $83 |
| Paroxetine Cr | 38,204 | $85 |
| Paroxetine Mesylate | 3,191 | $196 |
| Paxil Cr | 3,152 | $673 |
| Paxil | 2,944 | $567 |
2 drugs in the same class grade a letter or more higher than paroxetine on this site. Worth asking whether one of them would do the same job for you.
Same ATC pharmacological class, graded ones first, best grade at the top. Being in the same class does not make them interchangeable for your condition; it makes them worth asking about.