Paroxetine (paroxetine hydrochloride; trade names Paxil® (United
States), Seroxat® (UK), Aropax® (Australia)) is an antidepressant
of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) type. It was
released onto the market in 1992 by the pharmaceutical company
GlaxoSmithKline and has since become one of the most prescribed
antidepressants on the market. It is the second most prescribed
anti-depressant in the UK. It is now the subject of a fraud case in
the United States due to allegations that GlaxoSmithKline
suppressed research indicating that the drug caused young people to
become suicidal.
Like some other antidepressants, it is also prescribed in the
treatment of anxiety disorders. It was the first (and as of 2002,
the only) antidepressant formally approved in the United States for
the treatment of social phobia, causing it to be sometimes referred
to (although inaccurately) as an anti-shyness drug.