Depression pill OK'd for kids but probe goes on

NEW YORK - Just weeks after prosecutors accused Forest Laboratories Inc. of illegally marketing its anti-depressants Celexa and Lexapro to children and paying pediatricians kickbacks, U.S. health regulators have approved Lexapro for depression in kids.

Forest said Lexapro, its biggest product with annual sales of more than $2 billion, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat major depressive disorder in adolescents aged 12 to 17 and as a maintenance therapy, meaning to maintain control of symptoms. It is already approved for adults.

But federal prosecutors have said that Lexapro and Celexa have long been used improperly to treat depression in children.

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