Alaska Zyprexa Case - Jury selection begins Tuesday

[Guest guest]

Is there anyone in the house from Anchorage who could video this trial

or at least parts of it?

http://tmap.wordpress.com/

Associated Press

Lilly Prepares for Zyprexa Case

February 29, 2008

NEW YORK - Eli Lilly and Co. finally heads to court next week to fight

the long-standing accusation that it failed to warn doctors and patients

about complications tied to its top-selling drug Zyprexa.

Lilly will face the state of Alaska in a trial in Anchorage that centers

on Medicaid patients who use Zyprexa, an anti-psychotic that treats

schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Alaska is the first of nine states

suing Lilly over Zyprexa to head to trial.

Alaska sued Lilly two years ago, claiming the drug maker failed to warn

the state, doctors, patients and even the Food and Drug Administration

about Zyprexa's risks.

Lilly officials say the drug helps tame the most serious mental

illnesses by eliminating hallucinations and allowing patients to

function in society. But Zyprexa also has been linked to weight gain and

high blood-sugar levels, both of which contribute to diabetes.

The state said in its complaint that Medicaid patients have suffered

serious health problems after taking Zyprexa, forcing Alaska to cover

additional treatment.

The state accuses Lilly of " consciously placing company profits above

the public safety, " according to a complaint filed in state court.

Lilly says it held nothing back about the drug.

" We have at all times disclosed important safety information to

physicians, and we stand behind our sales and marketing practices, " said

Mike Harrington, Lilly's deputy general counsel.

Other states suing Lilly include Utah, Pennsylvania, West Virginia,

Montana, Louisiana, New Mexico, Mississippi and South Carolina.

Harrington declined to say whether the trial will affect those cases,

which are pending.

" Our plan is to try this case and move on to the next one, " he said.

" We've got good arguments, and we'll make these arguments in future

cases as they come along. "

Zyprexa brought in $4.8 billion in sales last year, but Lilly has faced

layers of litigation over the drug. The company has spent more than $1

billion to settle product liability claims from patients over Zyprexa,

with many also alleging inadequate warnings.

About 1,200 cases remain, and some trials are slated to start in June.

Lilly won a pretrial argument last week in Alaska, when a judge

dismissed a claim that the company pushed Zyprexa for off-label uses, or

those not approved by the FDA. [Note: This reporter fails to reveal

Alaska had accused Lilly of marketing Zyprexa for several non-approved

uses like Alzheimer's disease, Tourette's Syndrome and autism.

" What we've been saying all along is we only promote our medications for

approved uses, " spokeswoman Tarra Ryker said.

However, the company still faces similar claims in the other state

lawsuits, and the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of

Pennsylvania also is investigating Zyprexa marketing.

" We're cooperating with the Justice Department and we have discussions

with them from time to time, but anything beyond that is pretty

speculative, " Harrington said.

Jury selection is scheduled to start Tuesday in the Alaska case. But

Lilly filed a motion Friday asking for a delay so the Alaska Supreme

Court can review its argument to dismiss the remaining claim about

inadequate warning.

Analysts say these trials don't raise a lot of concern on Wall Street,

where many view them as a normal part of business for drug companies.

" We've seen multiple drug companies in the past year or two paying big

chunks to states to reimburse them, " said Dr. Jon LeCroy, an analyst who

follows Lilly for Natixis Bleichroeder Inc. " It's just expected. "

+++

25,263 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.psychsearch.net/francais.html

Russian - know a translator?

German - know a translator?