Healthy Skepticism Library item: 16053

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Rockoff JD.
Lilly Moves Closer to Another Deal Over Zyprexa Marketing
The Wall Street Journal Blog 2009 Jul 22
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/07/22/lilly-moves-closer-to-another-deal-over-zyprexa-marketing/

Full text:

Eli Lilly disclosed today that it was in “advanced discussions” with attorneys general from “several” states over their claims that Zyprexa was marketed for unapproved uses. The company also said it took a pretax $105 million charge against its second-quarter earnings for the potential settlement.

Lilly has faced numerous federal and state investigations into Zyprexa’s marketing for off-label uses. The medicine has FDA approval for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Zyprexa is Lilly’s top-selling product, with $4.7 billion in sales in 2008, 23% of the company’s revenue.

Lilly didn’t give further details on the potential settlement as part of its upbeat earnings announcement. Here’s more from Dow Jones Newswires on Lilly’s quarterly report as well as on results from Pfizer, which were lower but also beat forecasts.

Lilly has already reached a string of deals on its Zyprexa marketing. In January, the company reached a $1.42 billion Zyprexa accord with the Justice Department that included $800 million to settle civil suits, with $362 million going to states. That effort, which was the largest amount paid by a single defendant in DOJ history, was led by the U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia.

In October, Lilly agreed to pay $62 million to 32 states and the District of Columbia that had been investigating consumer-protection claims. In January 2008, it settled with Alaska for $15 million. Before that, it reached agreements to pay a total of $1.2 billion to 31,000 plaintiffs.

Zyprexa update: There are 12 state Zyprexa lawsuits outstanding against Lilly, and the company is in advanced discussions to settle a “subset” of those, a Lilly spokesman said.