Zyprexa class action may include Kiwis

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Zyprexa class action may include Kiwis

By RUTH HILL - The Dominion Post

Monday, 25 June 2007

New Zealand patients injured by a widely prescribed anti-psychotic medication

could be eligible to join a planned class action against the United States

manufacturer, says an Australian lawyer.

Personal injury lawyer Simon on is acting for a group of Australians who

say they suffered life-threatening side-effects from taking Zyprexa, also known

as olanzapine.

The drug is among four " new generation " anti-psychotic drugs prescribed in New

Zealand for the treatment of mental illness, including schizophrenia and

bi-polar disorder, over the last decade.

Mr on said the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly knew about dangerous or

even deadly side-effects - including diabetes, hyperglycaemia, pancreatitis and

ketoacidosis - as early as 1997 but " downplayed " them.

His client, 32-year-old Jonathon Austin, who was found to have pancreatitis

after taking Zyprexa for eight years, has lodged a claim with the Supreme Court

of New South Wales seeking damages of A$4 million. However, several other

Australian claimants have since come forward, and Mr on said his firm was

exploring the possibility of " piggy-backing " on a class action in the US.

" Because of New Zealand's no-blame system (ACC), there is no scope for personal

injury claims. A class action in the US would be New Zealand claimants only

chance to get compensation. "

Since April 1997, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration has had

reports of 40 deaths and 1231 adverse reactions among people taking Zyprexa.

New Zealand's Intensive Medicines Monitoring Programme has recorded five reports

of diabetes mellitus, four of hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar levels), two of

diabetic ketoacidosis and two of pancreatitis among Zyprexa patients.

Director, Mira on-Woolrych, said the drug had generated hundreds of

reports of adverse reactions, but this was not surprising because the agency had

taken " a proactive approach. The fact olanzapine is still licensed in New

Zealand shows clinicians believe the benefits outweigh the risks.

" The danger of publicising adverse effects without context is that you may scare

people into stopping their medication out of fright. "

Geoff Bridgman, national president of Supporting Families in Mental Illness -

formerly the Schizophrenia Fellowship - said New Zealand patients were less

worried about side-effects from Zyprexa than by the threat of losing it.

Pharmac, the Government's drug buying agency, recently proposed replacing

Zyprexa with a generic drug on the subsidised pharmaceutical schedule.

But unlike Eli Lilly, the makers of the generic drug would make no commitment to

setting up monitoring programmes, he said. " Zyprexa does have some fairly

disastrous side-effects if not managed properly, but it's a huge improvement on

anything available previously. "

Medsafe spokesman Dr Jessamine said pancreatitis was a rare side-effect,

occurring in less than 0.01 per cent of cases.