French Agency Faces Manslaughter Charges Over Valproate Birth Defects

The medicines regulator, ANSM, says it has been working to limit women’s exposure to the drug.

Symbol of law and justice
The French regulator is facing charges over valproate side-effects • Source: Shutterstock

The French investigation into birth defects caused by the anti-epileptic medicine, sodium valproate, has taken another turn after the national regulatory agency, ANSM, was indicted for injury and manslaughter through negligence.

The indictment is part of a criminal investigation conducted by the Paris Court of Justice into why action was not...

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