French man who claimed Glaxo drug made him "gay sex addict" wins case

It might appear to be an April Fool, but rest assured it's genuine.

On Thursday a French court ordered the pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to pay Didier Jambart more than €117,000 in damages.

Didier Jambart (screenshot from TF1 news report)

Jambart had taken the company to court claiming that its drug, Requip, had led him to become addicted to gambling and sex, changed his personality and caused him psychological damage.

The 51-year-old father began taking the drug in 2003 to treat Parkinson's disease and a year later, after initial positive signs, his doctor increased the dosage, which was when the side-effects kicked in.

He began gambling, losing more than €70,000, stole credit cards from friends, became addicted to sex with men, cross-dressing and exposing himself on the Internet.

In his own words, Jambart was out of control and attempted suicide eight times.

It wasn't until a specialist took him off the drug in September 2005 that the link between Jambart's behaviour and the side effects of his treatment was established.

His lawyers had argued that GSK had known of the rare but potential hypersexuality and compulsive gambling in some patients as early as 2000 and certainly by 2003, but hadn't officially recognised the possible side effects or included a mention of it on the packaging until 2006.

"It's a great personal victory for all those victims of Requip," Jambart said after the court in the western French city of Nantes had handed down its ruling.

"The fight will go on for all those other people who have suffered similarly from such side effects and haven't dared to speak out."

Jambart's is far from being an isolated case in France. He and his lawyers, Gérard Marot and Antoine Béguin, say they in the past week they have been contacted by others now apparently willing to come forward.

It could get expensive for GSK. Still, the company can probably afford it.

Didier Jeambart demande 450 000 euros de dédommagement