GSK says it shared its report with the UK drug regulator the following year – and had told it about the paedophilia case within days.
But this specific language about “deviancy” has never appeared in warnings. Rather, they list the potential for an “increased libido”, “harmful behaviour” and an “altered sexual interest”.
We have also learned that, at the same time GSK was compiling its findings, it was also applying to use Ropinirole for a different condition, RLS. It then also collaborated with a private hospital in the US to see if its drug was effective as a treatment for sexual dysfunction in 2005.
GSK told the BBC that its drug was extensively trialled, continues to be approved by regulators around the world, and that side effects are clearly stated. It said that it did not sponsor or design the 2005 trial.
In a statement, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it took years for warnings to appear in 2007 because such a decision requires all available evidence to be considered – and leaflets cannot include an “exhaustive” list of behaviours as many are “individualised”.
Many of the people who contacted the BBC also said they felt they had no recourse to justice for side effects they say they weren’t properly warned about.
However, outside the UK, a number of legal cases have been lodged – ranging from compensation claims to criminal cases where defendants have walked free.
A year ago, a Belgian court acquitted a man who had sexually assaulted his four-year-old granddaughter on the grounds that his Ropinirole medication had caused his paedophilic behaviour.
Next month, a major judgement is expected in a French court after a man in his 50s sued GSK for failing to adequately warn patients of these side effects.
The man says the medication destroyed his relationship with his partner – and he lost €90,000 (£78,600) to compulsive gambling and spending.
He is requesting damages – and for the company to recognise liability.