Allergan Defeats Evidence Positing Link Between Lexapro, Autism

Several women who took the antidepressant Lexapro during pregnancy may not present expert testimony that the drug, made by Allergan PLC and its Forest Laboratories unit, can cause autism because the opinions aren’t reliable, a federal court in New York ruled.

Two experts conducted epidemiological analyses that fell short of the scientific standard, Judge Laura Taylor Swain said Sept. 3 for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. And a third, a pharmacologist, cherry-picked data and proffered “a misleading analysis of epidemiological data,” Swain said.

Nichole Daniels-Feasel and five other women, suing on behalf of themselves ...