Mothers Lose Appeal in Suit Over Lexapro and Autism in Babies

Expert testimony was properly excluded in a suit alleging the anti-depressant Lexapro causes autism in babies, a federal appeals court said.

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Friday affirmed the lower court’s exclusion of the testimony and its summary judgment for AbbVie Inc. unit Allergan PLC and Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc, the companies involved in making and marketing the drug.

A group of mothers who took Lexapro during their pregnancies and said their children developed autism spectrum disorder sued the makers of the drug. Their suit failed after the district court excluded three of their expert witnesses ...