March 7th, 2008

"Eli Lilly Played Down the Effects of Zyprexa"

On March 6, 2008, the State of Alaska provided its opening arguments in a lawsuit against the maker of the schizophrenia drug Zyprexa.

The lawsuit contends that the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly played down the diabetes and weight gain effects of Zyprexa to protect their sales and profits, at the expense of the health of thousands of schizophrenic individuals.

Alaska's Medicaid program covers millions of dollars' worth of medical care for schizophrenic patients who have developed diabetes and other illnesses affected by excessive body weight.

"Unless We Come Clean on This"

The State's lead attorney on the case, Scott Allen, told a 12-member jury in the court of state judge Mark Rindner that internal Lilly memos show that company executives knew about Zyprexa's diabetes risk soon after the drug appeared on the U.S. market in 1996, but concealed the risks.

Allen presented an Oct. 2000 memo about Zyprexa's risks by a Lilly executive. The memo noted that a Lilly-sponsored panel of MDs had recently warned that "unless we come clean on this, it might get much more serious."

Sales in the Billions of Dollars

A later Lilly memo by another executive stated that regarding the risks of Zyprexa, the company was, in effect, "betting the farm on Zyprexa." At the crux of the Alaska case is the issue of whether Lilly was concealing the diabetes risk of Zyprexa, which has brought Lilly more than $2 billion in sales in the U.S. alone, in 2007 alone.

Although Lilly management may have known about the diabetes risk in 2000, it was only in 2007 and under pressure from the FDA that Lilly changed the drug's label to acknowledge that Zyprexa treatment presents an increased risk of inducing high blood sugar compared to other schizophrenia medicines.

Millions of Patients, Most on Medicaid

Approximately 23 million people have taken Zyprexa since it was introduced, and many states are watching the Alaska court closely, since each state's Medicaid program is significantly affected by the development of diabetes among its patient population.

Most people with schizophrenia are unemployed and thus receiving their medical care through state and federally-funded programs such as Medicaid.

Learn More about the Risks of Zyprexa

If Zyprexa use has harmed you or a member of your family, you have the legal right to pursue a remedy for the harm. Contact a plaintiff's attorney near you to discuss your case.