Re: lilly settles

how true?... i dont know



"George C Scott" <nomail@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:t_qdnWRkZ50OLiDYnZ2dnUVZ_rOqnZ2d@giganews.com ...
> By ALEX BERENSON
> Published: January 5, 2007
> Eli Lilly agreed yesterday to pay up to $500 million to settle 18,000
> lawsuits from people who claimed they had developed diabetes or other
> diseases after taking Zyprexa, Lilly's drug for schizophrenia and
> bipolar disorder.
>
> Including earlier settlements over Zyprexa, Lilly has now agreed to pay
> at least $1.2 billion to 28,500 people who said they were injured by
> the drug. At least 1,200 suits are still pending, the company said.
> About 20 million people worldwide have taken Zyprexa since its
> introduction in 1996.
>
> The settlement covers cases filed in state and federal courts by law
> firms or groups of firms for 18,000 clients, Lilly said. The federal
> suits have been overseen in Brooklyn by Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the
> Eastern District of New York.
>
> The settlement will not affect continuing civil or criminal
> investigations of Zyprexa by state attorneys general and federal
> prosecutors.
>
> Both Lilly and lawyers for plaintiffs said they were pleased with the
> agreement. With global sales of roughly $4.2 billion last year, Zyprexa
> is Lilly's largest-selling drug and a major contributor to the
> company's profits. Lilly shares were relatively flat after the
> settlement announcement. They rose 11 cents yesterday, to $52.36.
>
> Zyprexa is the brand name for olanzapine, a potent chemical that binds
> to receptors in the brain to reduce psychotic hallucinations and
> delusions. Clinical trials show that in many patients, Zyprexa also
> causes severe weight gain and increases in cholesterol and blood sugar.
>
> Documents provided to The New York Times last month by a lawyer who
> represents mentally ill patients show that Lilly played down the risks
> of Zyprexa to doctors as the drug's sales soared after its
> introduction in 1996. The internal documents show that in Lilly's
> clinical trials, 16 percent of people taking Zyprexa gained more than
> 66 pounds after a year on the drug, a far higher figure than the
> company disclosed to doctors.
>
> The documents also show that Lilly marketed the drug as appropriate for
> patients who did not meet accepted diagnoses of schizophrenia or
> bipolar disorder, Zyprexa's only approved uses. By law, drug makers
> may promote their drugs only for diseases for which the Food and Drug
> Administration has found the medicines to be safe and effective, though
> doctors may prescribe drugs in any way they see fit.
>
> In response to questions about the information in the documents, Lilly
> has denied any wrongdoing and said it provided all relevant information
> to doctors and the F.D.A. Lilly has also said it did not promote
> Zyprexa for conditions other than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
>
> In 2004, a panel of the American Diabetes Association found that
> Zyprexa caused diabetes more than other widely used antipsychotic
> drugs, in part because it tends to cause much more weight gain. But the
> F.D.A. has never made a similar finding. Instead, the F.D.A. added a
> warning in 2003 to the label of Zyprexa and other new antipsychotic
> drugs about their tendency to cause high blood sugar.
>
> In 2005, a $700 million agreement covered 8,000 patients, and the
> company has made 2,500 individual settlements whose total value has not
> been disclosed, Lilly said. The 2005 settlement valued claims at about
> $90,000 a plaintiff, while yesterday's agreement values claims at
> about $27,000 a plaintiff, at most.
>
> The lower value for the new claims comes in part because of the F.D.A.
> label change, which has allowed Lilly to say that it adequately warned
> doctors of the risks of Zyprexa after 2003. The label change may also
> help to protect Lilly from future lawsuits, analysts and lawyers say.
>
> In its statement, Lilly said the settlement did not change its view
> that Zyprexa is a safe and effective treatment for mental illness.
>
> "We wanted to reduce significant uncertainties involved in litigating
> such complex cases," Sidney Taurel, Lilly's chief executive, said
> in the statement.
>
> Richard Meadow, one of the lead lawyers for the plaintiffs, said the
> deal was fair to both sides. "Prolonging this litigation further is
> in no one's best interest," he said.
>
>