New York, NYIt’s been almost eight years since Eli Lilly agreed to settle more than 18,000 Zyprexa lawsuits alleging patients developed diabetes and other health problems after taking Zyprexa. Those lawsuits alleged patients developed serious Zyprexa side effects as a result of taking the antipsychotic medication, and claimed Eli Lilly failed to warn them about the risks.
Back in early 2007, Eli Lilly announced it would pay approximately $500 million to settle the lawsuits, which involved claims that were filed in state and in federal courts. That settlement brought the total settlements up to $1.2 billion, and resolved more than 28,000 claims against the company. At the time, according to the New York Times (1/5/07), there were still at least 1,200 lawsuits pending.
Zyprexa, known generically as olanzapine, is used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It has been linked to weight gain and increased levels of cholesterol and blood sugar. In 2003, the warning label for Zyprexa was changed to include information about the risks associated with the drug.
In 2009, Eli Lilly settled allegations that it broke the law by advertising Zyprexa for off-label use. In that case, Lilly agreed to pay almost $1.5 billion to settle the allegations raised by the Department of Justice. According to a press release from the Justice Department (1/15/09), Lilly admitted to illegally marketing Zyprexa “for uses never approved by the FDA.” Those uses included the treatment of dementia, Alzheimer's, depression and generalized sleep disorder.
The same press release notes, “Eli Lilly knew that significant weight gain and obesity were adverse side effects of Zyprexa and that weight gain and obesity were factors in causing hyperglycemia and diabetes. Yet despite written caution from the FDA, Eli Lilly continued to promote these adverse events as therapeutic benefits of Zyprexa use, particularly in the elderly.”
Lawsuits filed concerning Zyprexa have decreased, although some have been filed. Most recently, earlier in 2014, a three-judge panel ruled that a lower court judge was right to exclude expert evidence and grant summary judgment in the lawsuit. That judge had excluded evidence provided by a psychiatrist, who alleged that 15 percent of Zyprexa users will develop tardive dyskinesia after three years of therapy on the drug. The judge then granted summary dismissal of the lawsuit, in Lilly’s favor.
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