Lilly Settles Zyprexa Claims
Eli Lilly has agreed to pay up to half a billion dollars in order to settle around 18,000 claims directed against the international pharmaceutical concern. These injured parties claimed they had developed diabetes or suffered a stroke while taking Lilly’s number one atypical antipsychotic, Zyprexa.
The settlements handled in January, 2007, dealt with cases filed in state and federal courts; these suits will have no effect of continuing civil or criminal investigations of Zyprexa. Both lawyers for the plaintiffs and for Lilly were happy with the outcome.
With global sales last year eclipsing $4.2 billion dollars, Zyprexa is easily Lilly’s top-selling drug and a major contributor to company profits. Zyprexa is Lilly’s brand name for the drug olanzapine, one of the first “atypical antipsychotics” or second-generation antipsychotic drugs on the market.
Lilly has consistently downplayed the severity of Zyprexa’s side-effects while promoting the drug’s ability to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In 2004, the American Diabetes Association found Zyprexa more dangerous a cause of diabetes and hyperglycemia than other atypicals because of Zyprexa’s propensity to cause weight gain.