Alaska - Day 2 - Psychiatric Tool on Trial - Zyprexa - Video Coverage Possibility?

[Guest guest]

Yesterday Anchorage Daily News Senior Vice President, Pat Dougherty

indicated that his paper was " considering " providing video of the

Zyprexa trial

free of charge to the public.

Could you write a warm short note encouraging Mr. Dougherty to do just

that?

Senior Vice President and Editor - Pat Dougherty pdougherty@...

http://www.adn.com/front/story/336455.html

Anchorage Daily News

State claims drug maker hid data

SUIT: Zyprexa risks weren't disclosed by Eli Lilly, lawyer says.

By LISA DEMER

ldemer@... | ldemer@...

March 6th, 2008

Drug maker Eli Lilly knew from the start that its schizophrenia drug

Zyprexa was linked to health problems in patients but hid that

information because it wanted a big moneymaker, a lawyer for the state

told jurors in Anchorage Superior Court on Wednesday.

But a lawyer for Lilly shot back that every prescription drug has side

effects and that Zyprexa is a life-saving and effective treatment for

serious mental illness. It's been on the market since 1996, is approved

in the United States and more than 80 other countries. The state of

Alaska hasn't done one thing to restrict its use, Lilly's lawyers told

jurors.

Alaska is suing Eli Lilly and Co. to recover the costs of treating

Medicaid patients for what it contends are health problems caused by

Zyprexa, including significant weight gain and diabetes.

It's the first case against Lilly over Zyprexa to go to trial. Cases

brought by eight other states are pending, as are 1,200 individual

claims. Both sides are going all-out with lawyers and support staff

brought in from around the country.

An Anchorage jury of 12 with two alternates was seated Wednesday morning

for what's expected to be a three-week trial heavy on medical experts,

technical details and insider Lilly documents that the corporation never

expected to become public.

This jury is only considering liability. If the state wins, there will

be a second trial in Anchorage before a new jury to determine damages.

Ed Sniffen, a senior assistant attorney general, said the state is

seeking hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lilly represented Zyprexa as an anti-psychotic that had comparable rates

of " adverse effects " as other similar drugs, but that's not true,

, a lawyer from Houston, Texas, said in his opening statement.

Patients on Zyprexa suffer increased cholesterol levels, high blood

sugar, diabetes and significant, devastating weight gain, he said.

Before the drug was even approved, he said, a study found that patients

gained 24 pounds after 12 months on Zyprexa.

" Eli Lilly did not tell doctors, the state of Alaska Medicaid system or

patients what they knew about this drug, " said , in an opening that

took nearly two hours. Patients should be able to make an " informed

choice, " he said.

" But if they put a warning on this product, their sales would fall. They

would lose money. People would choose another drug, and they decided not

to disclose what they knew, " said.

Lilly never advertised Zyprexa on TV or in magazines. It relied on its

huge force of sales representatives to pitch the drug to doctors. In

2000, when Lilly's patent on the highly profitable antidepressant Prozac

ran out, the company began marketing Zyprexa not just to psychiatrists

but also to primary care doctors, told jurors.

The company needed a new " billion-dollar blockbuster, " he said, and it

dubbed its campaign " Viva Zyprexa. "

The elderly were considered an especially lucrative patient group, and

if they gained weight, that was a plus because they tend to waste away,

the head of the Zyprexa team said in a recorded talk handed out on

cassette to sales representatives, told jurors.

A July 2001 slide show created by Lilly reveals how important the drug

was to the corporate bottom line.

" The company is betting the farm on Zyprexa, " said, quoting from

an internal company document flashed on the screen for jurors. " The

ability of Eli Lilly to remain independent and emerge as the fastest

growing pharma company of the decade depends solely, solely, only on our

ability to achieve world class commercialization of Zyprexa. "

The " Viva Zyprexa " campaign material was only for sales people and was

never supposed to become public, a company spokeswoman said during a

break in the trial.

Eli Lilly's take on Zyprexa is vastly different from the state's.

Doctors considered Zyprexa a " breakthrough " medicine for people with

debilitating schizophrenia and it was later approved for bipolar

disorder as well, Nina Gussack, a Philadelphia-based lawyer with Pepper

Hamilton, told the jury.

The state of Alaska's own expert, Dr. Wirshing, called Zyprexa

and others in its class " the closest thing to magic " that he's ever seen

in his professional life, according to a snippet of a video deposition

that Gussack played for jurors.

And no one in the state has done anything to restrict or limit the

continued prescribing of Zyprexa, she said.

Doctors always must weigh risks versus benefits, and they knew the risk

of weight gain with Zyprexa because the company listed it under the

" adverse events " portion of the drug's label, Gussack said. But state

lawyers say that information should have been listed on a more

significant warning label.

The label for Zyprexa evolved over time, as more information was known,

another lawyer for Lilly, Lehner of Pepper Hamilton's D.C.

office, told jurors. The state says the label wasn't significantly

changed until 2007, after the New York Times reported from leaked

documents that clinical trials found elevated blood sugar levels and

weight gain.

The head of Alaska's Medicaid pharmacy program told Lilly that as far as

he knows, Lilly never deceived the state about the safety or

effectiveness of Zyprexa, Lehner said.

" This case should never have been brought, " he told jurors.

The state is suing under consumer protection law and doesn't have to

prove that any individual person was misled or even harmed by Lilly,

said.

+++

25,381 Signatures Against TeenScreen. Video:

Petition:

English http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html

Spanish http://www.psychsearch.net/votos.html

Italian http://www.psychsearch.net/italiani.html

French http://www.enfantshyperactifs.com/petition-a-signer/

Japanese: Know a translator?

Russian: Know a translator?

[Guest guest]

Yesterday Anchorage Daily News Senior Vice President, Pat Dougherty

indicated that his paper was " considering " providing video of the

Zyprexa trial

free of charge to the public.

Could you write a warm short note encouraging Mr. Dougherty to do just

that?

Senior Vice President and Editor - Pat Dougherty pdougherty@...

http://www.adn.com/front/story/336455.html

Anchorage Daily News

State claims drug maker hid data

SUIT: Zyprexa risks weren't disclosed by Eli Lilly, lawyer says.

By LISA DEMER

ldemer@... | ldemer@...

March 6th, 2008

Drug maker Eli Lilly knew from the start that its schizophrenia drug

Zyprexa was linked to health problems in patients but hid that

information because it wanted a big moneymaker, a lawyer for the state

told jurors in Anchorage Superior Court on Wednesday.

But a lawyer for Lilly shot back that every prescription drug has side

effects and that Zyprexa is a life-saving and effective treatment for

serious mental illness. It's been on the market since 1996, is approved

in the United States and more than 80 other countries. The state of

Alaska hasn't done one thing to restrict its use, Lilly's lawyers told

jurors.

Alaska is suing Eli Lilly and Co. to recover the costs of treating

Medicaid patients for what it contends are health problems caused by

Zyprexa, including significant weight gain and diabetes.

It's the first case against Lilly over Zyprexa to go to trial. Cases

brought by eight other states are pending, as are 1,200 individual

claims. Both sides are going all-out with lawyers and support staff

brought in from around the country.

An Anchorage jury of 12 with two alternates was seated Wednesday morning

for what's expected to be a three-week trial heavy on medical experts,

technical details and insider Lilly documents that the corporation never

expected to become public.

This jury is only considering liability. If the state wins, there will

be a second trial in Anchorage before a new jury to determine damages.

Ed Sniffen, a senior assistant attorney general, said the state is

seeking hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lilly represented Zyprexa as an anti-psychotic that had comparable rates

of " adverse effects " as other similar drugs, but that's not true,

, a lawyer from Houston, Texas, said in his opening statement.

Patients on Zyprexa suffer increased cholesterol levels, high blood

sugar, diabetes and significant, devastating weight gain, he said.

Before the drug was even approved, he said, a study found that patients

gained 24 pounds after 12 months on Zyprexa.

" Eli Lilly did not tell doctors, the state of Alaska Medicaid system or

patients what they knew about this drug, " said , in an opening that

took nearly two hours. Patients should be able to make an " informed

choice, " he said.

" But if they put a warning on this product, their sales would fall. They

would lose money. People would choose another drug, and they decided not

to disclose what they knew, " said.

Lilly never advertised Zyprexa on TV or in magazines. It relied on its

huge force of sales representatives to pitch the drug to doctors. In

2000, when Lilly's patent on the highly profitable antidepressant Prozac

ran out, the company began marketing Zyprexa not just to psychiatrists

but also to primary care doctors, told jurors.

The company needed a new " billion-dollar blockbuster, " he said, and it

dubbed its campaign " Viva Zyprexa. "

The elderly were considered an especially lucrative patient group, and

if they gained weight, that was a plus because they tend to waste away,

the head of the Zyprexa team said in a recorded talk handed out on

cassette to sales representatives, told jurors.

A July 2001 slide show created by Lilly reveals how important the drug

was to the corporate bottom line.

" The company is betting the farm on Zyprexa, " said, quoting from

an internal company document flashed on the screen for jurors. " The

ability of Eli Lilly to remain independent and emerge as the fastest

growing pharma company of the decade depends solely, solely, only on our

ability to achieve world class commercialization of Zyprexa. "

The " Viva Zyprexa " campaign material was only for sales people and was

never supposed to become public, a company spokeswoman said during a

break in the trial.

Eli Lilly's take on Zyprexa is vastly different from the state's.

Doctors considered Zyprexa a " breakthrough " medicine for people with

debilitating schizophrenia and it was later approved for bipolar

disorder as well, Nina Gussack, a Philadelphia-based lawyer with Pepper

Hamilton, told the jury.

The state of Alaska's own expert, Dr. Wirshing, called Zyprexa

and others in its class " the closest thing to magic " that he's ever seen

in his professional life, according to a snippet of a video deposition

that Gussack played for jurors.

And no one in the state has done anything to restrict or limit the

continued prescribing of Zyprexa, she said.

Doctors always must weigh risks versus benefits, and they knew the risk

of weight gain with Zyprexa because the company listed it under the

" adverse events " portion of the drug's label, Gussack said. But state

lawyers say that information should have been listed on a more

significant warning label.

The label for Zyprexa evolved over time, as more information was known,

another lawyer for Lilly, Lehner of Pepper Hamilton's D.C.

office, told jurors. The state says the label wasn't significantly

changed until 2007, after the New York Times reported from leaked

documents that clinical trials found elevated blood sugar levels and

weight gain.

The head of Alaska's Medicaid pharmacy program told Lilly that as far as

he knows, Lilly never deceived the state about the safety or

effectiveness of Zyprexa, Lehner said.

" This case should never have been brought, " he told jurors.

The state is suing under consumer protection law and doesn't have to

prove that any individual person was misled or even harmed by Lilly,

said.

+++

25,381 Signatures Against TeenScreen. Video:

Petition:

English http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html

Spanish http://www.psychsearch.net/votos.html

Italian http://www.psychsearch.net/italiani.html

French http://www.enfantshyperactifs.com/petition-a-signer/

Japanese: Know a translator?

Russian: Know a translator?

[Guest guest]

Yesterday Anchorage Daily News Senior Vice President, Pat Dougherty

indicated that his paper was " considering " providing video of the

Zyprexa trial

free of charge to the public.

Could you write a warm short note encouraging Mr. Dougherty to do just

that?

Senior Vice President and Editor - Pat Dougherty pdougherty@...

http://www.adn.com/front/story/336455.html

Anchorage Daily News

State claims drug maker hid data

SUIT: Zyprexa risks weren't disclosed by Eli Lilly, lawyer says.

By LISA DEMER

ldemer@... | ldemer@...

March 6th, 2008

Drug maker Eli Lilly knew from the start that its schizophrenia drug

Zyprexa was linked to health problems in patients but hid that

information because it wanted a big moneymaker, a lawyer for the state

told jurors in Anchorage Superior Court on Wednesday.

But a lawyer for Lilly shot back that every prescription drug has side

effects and that Zyprexa is a life-saving and effective treatment for

serious mental illness. It's been on the market since 1996, is approved

in the United States and more than 80 other countries. The state of

Alaska hasn't done one thing to restrict its use, Lilly's lawyers told

jurors.

Alaska is suing Eli Lilly and Co. to recover the costs of treating

Medicaid patients for what it contends are health problems caused by

Zyprexa, including significant weight gain and diabetes.

It's the first case against Lilly over Zyprexa to go to trial. Cases

brought by eight other states are pending, as are 1,200 individual

claims. Both sides are going all-out with lawyers and support staff

brought in from around the country.

An Anchorage jury of 12 with two alternates was seated Wednesday morning

for what's expected to be a three-week trial heavy on medical experts,

technical details and insider Lilly documents that the corporation never

expected to become public.

This jury is only considering liability. If the state wins, there will

be a second trial in Anchorage before a new jury to determine damages.

Ed Sniffen, a senior assistant attorney general, said the state is

seeking hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lilly represented Zyprexa as an anti-psychotic that had comparable rates

of " adverse effects " as other similar drugs, but that's not true,

, a lawyer from Houston, Texas, said in his opening statement.

Patients on Zyprexa suffer increased cholesterol levels, high blood

sugar, diabetes and significant, devastating weight gain, he said.

Before the drug was even approved, he said, a study found that patients

gained 24 pounds after 12 months on Zyprexa.

" Eli Lilly did not tell doctors, the state of Alaska Medicaid system or

patients what they knew about this drug, " said , in an opening that

took nearly two hours. Patients should be able to make an " informed

choice, " he said.

" But if they put a warning on this product, their sales would fall. They

would lose money. People would choose another drug, and they decided not

to disclose what they knew, " said.

Lilly never advertised Zyprexa on TV or in magazines. It relied on its

huge force of sales representatives to pitch the drug to doctors. In

2000, when Lilly's patent on the highly profitable antidepressant Prozac

ran out, the company began marketing Zyprexa not just to psychiatrists

but also to primary care doctors, told jurors.

The company needed a new " billion-dollar blockbuster, " he said, and it

dubbed its campaign " Viva Zyprexa. "

The elderly were considered an especially lucrative patient group, and

if they gained weight, that was a plus because they tend to waste away,

the head of the Zyprexa team said in a recorded talk handed out on

cassette to sales representatives, told jurors.

A July 2001 slide show created by Lilly reveals how important the drug

was to the corporate bottom line.

" The company is betting the farm on Zyprexa, " said, quoting from

an internal company document flashed on the screen for jurors. " The

ability of Eli Lilly to remain independent and emerge as the fastest

growing pharma company of the decade depends solely, solely, only on our

ability to achieve world class commercialization of Zyprexa. "

The " Viva Zyprexa " campaign material was only for sales people and was

never supposed to become public, a company spokeswoman said during a

break in the trial.

Eli Lilly's take on Zyprexa is vastly different from the state's.

Doctors considered Zyprexa a " breakthrough " medicine for people with

debilitating schizophrenia and it was later approved for bipolar

disorder as well, Nina Gussack, a Philadelphia-based lawyer with Pepper

Hamilton, told the jury.

The state of Alaska's own expert, Dr. Wirshing, called Zyprexa

and others in its class " the closest thing to magic " that he's ever seen

in his professional life, according to a snippet of a video deposition

that Gussack played for jurors.

And no one in the state has done anything to restrict or limit the

continued prescribing of Zyprexa, she said.

Doctors always must weigh risks versus benefits, and they knew the risk

of weight gain with Zyprexa because the company listed it under the

" adverse events " portion of the drug's label, Gussack said. But state

lawyers say that information should have been listed on a more

significant warning label.

The label for Zyprexa evolved over time, as more information was known,

another lawyer for Lilly, Lehner of Pepper Hamilton's D.C.

office, told jurors. The state says the label wasn't significantly

changed until 2007, after the New York Times reported from leaked

documents that clinical trials found elevated blood sugar levels and

weight gain.

The head of Alaska's Medicaid pharmacy program told Lilly that as far as

he knows, Lilly never deceived the state about the safety or

effectiveness of Zyprexa, Lehner said.

" This case should never have been brought, " he told jurors.

The state is suing under consumer protection law and doesn't have to

prove that any individual person was misled or even harmed by Lilly,

said.

+++

25,381 Signatures Against TeenScreen. Video:

Petition:

English http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html

Spanish http://www.psychsearch.net/votos.html

Italian http://www.psychsearch.net/italiani.html

French http://www.enfantshyperactifs.com/petition-a-signer/

Japanese: Know a translator?

Russian: Know a translator?

[Guest guest]

Yesterday Anchorage Daily News Senior Vice President, Pat Dougherty

indicated that his paper was " considering " providing video of the

Zyprexa trial

free of charge to the public.

Could you write a warm short note encouraging Mr. Dougherty to do just

that?

Senior Vice President and Editor - Pat Dougherty pdougherty@...

http://www.adn.com/front/story/336455.html

Anchorage Daily News

State claims drug maker hid data

SUIT: Zyprexa risks weren't disclosed by Eli Lilly, lawyer says.

By LISA DEMER

ldemer@... | ldemer@...

March 6th, 2008

Drug maker Eli Lilly knew from the start that its schizophrenia drug

Zyprexa was linked to health problems in patients but hid that

information because it wanted a big moneymaker, a lawyer for the state

told jurors in Anchorage Superior Court on Wednesday.

But a lawyer for Lilly shot back that every prescription drug has side

effects and that Zyprexa is a life-saving and effective treatment for

serious mental illness. It's been on the market since 1996, is approved

in the United States and more than 80 other countries. The state of

Alaska hasn't done one thing to restrict its use, Lilly's lawyers told

jurors.

Alaska is suing Eli Lilly and Co. to recover the costs of treating

Medicaid patients for what it contends are health problems caused by

Zyprexa, including significant weight gain and diabetes.

It's the first case against Lilly over Zyprexa to go to trial. Cases

brought by eight other states are pending, as are 1,200 individual

claims. Both sides are going all-out with lawyers and support staff

brought in from around the country.

An Anchorage jury of 12 with two alternates was seated Wednesday morning

for what's expected to be a three-week trial heavy on medical experts,

technical details and insider Lilly documents that the corporation never

expected to become public.

This jury is only considering liability. If the state wins, there will

be a second trial in Anchorage before a new jury to determine damages.

Ed Sniffen, a senior assistant attorney general, said the state is

seeking hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lilly represented Zyprexa as an anti-psychotic that had comparable rates

of " adverse effects " as other similar drugs, but that's not true,

, a lawyer from Houston, Texas, said in his opening statement.

Patients on Zyprexa suffer increased cholesterol levels, high blood

sugar, diabetes and significant, devastating weight gain, he said.

Before the drug was even approved, he said, a study found that patients

gained 24 pounds after 12 months on Zyprexa.

" Eli Lilly did not tell doctors, the state of Alaska Medicaid system or

patients what they knew about this drug, " said , in an opening that

took nearly two hours. Patients should be able to make an " informed

choice, " he said.

" But if they put a warning on this product, their sales would fall. They

would lose money. People would choose another drug, and they decided not

to disclose what they knew, " said.

Lilly never advertised Zyprexa on TV or in magazines. It relied on its

huge force of sales representatives to pitch the drug to doctors. In

2000, when Lilly's patent on the highly profitable antidepressant Prozac

ran out, the company began marketing Zyprexa not just to psychiatrists

but also to primary care doctors, told jurors.

The company needed a new " billion-dollar blockbuster, " he said, and it

dubbed its campaign " Viva Zyprexa. "

The elderly were considered an especially lucrative patient group, and

if they gained weight, that was a plus because they tend to waste away,

the head of the Zyprexa team said in a recorded talk handed out on

cassette to sales representatives, told jurors.

A July 2001 slide show created by Lilly reveals how important the drug

was to the corporate bottom line.

" The company is betting the farm on Zyprexa, " said, quoting from

an internal company document flashed on the screen for jurors. " The

ability of Eli Lilly to remain independent and emerge as the fastest

growing pharma company of the decade depends solely, solely, only on our

ability to achieve world class commercialization of Zyprexa. "

The " Viva Zyprexa " campaign material was only for sales people and was

never supposed to become public, a company spokeswoman said during a

break in the trial.

Eli Lilly's take on Zyprexa is vastly different from the state's.

Doctors considered Zyprexa a " breakthrough " medicine for people with

debilitating schizophrenia and it was later approved for bipolar

disorder as well, Nina Gussack, a Philadelphia-based lawyer with Pepper

Hamilton, told the jury.

The state of Alaska's own expert, Dr. Wirshing, called Zyprexa

and others in its class " the closest thing to magic " that he's ever seen

in his professional life, according to a snippet of a video deposition

that Gussack played for jurors.

And no one in the state has done anything to restrict or limit the

continued prescribing of Zyprexa, she said.

Doctors always must weigh risks versus benefits, and they knew the risk

of weight gain with Zyprexa because the company listed it under the

" adverse events " portion of the drug's label, Gussack said. But state

lawyers say that information should have been listed on a more

significant warning label.

The label for Zyprexa evolved over time, as more information was known,

another lawyer for Lilly, Lehner of Pepper Hamilton's D.C.

office, told jurors. The state says the label wasn't significantly

changed until 2007, after the New York Times reported from leaked

documents that clinical trials found elevated blood sugar levels and

weight gain.

The head of Alaska's Medicaid pharmacy program told Lilly that as far as

he knows, Lilly never deceived the state about the safety or

effectiveness of Zyprexa, Lehner said.

" This case should never have been brought, " he told jurors.

The state is suing under consumer protection law and doesn't have to

prove that any individual person was misled or even harmed by Lilly,

said.

+++

25,381 Signatures Against TeenScreen. Video:

Petition:

English http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html

Spanish http://www.psychsearch.net/votos.html

Italian http://www.psychsearch.net/italiani.html

French http://www.enfantshyperactifs.com/petition-a-signer/

Japanese: Know a translator?

Russian: Know a translator?