July 31, 2006
The Mississippi Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly, the maker of the antipsychotic prescription drug Zyprexa, citing the company’s deceptive marketing practices.
According to the claim, Lilly knew that Zyprexa increased a patient’s risk of developing diabetes but continued to market and sell the drug without changing the warning label to reflect the potential danger.
In April 2002, the company changed the labeling of Zyprexa marketed in the United Kingdom and Japan to include the increased risk for diabetes-related injuries. It wasn’t until a year and a half later that Lilly changed the labeling of the drug in the United States.
The state seeks to recover funds for Medicaid patients who suffered Zyprexa-related injuries. The lawsuit also charges Lilly with marketing the drug for non-approved uses and seeks to recover money expended to purchase Zyprexa for “non-medically approved indications.”
Tim Balducci, Special Assistant Attorney General, said that the state “is spending millions of dollars on Zyprexa for patients who are not indicated for the drug, and further, who are being harmed by it.”
He said that the damages could amount to “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Injured by Zyprexa? Please contact us to learn more about your legal rights and options.
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